Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has taken steps to lessen its reliance on frontier AI models, though it's not an outright declaration of protest. In June, the tech giant launched its own proprietary AI models (Microsoft AI or MAI) across select applications in its Office suite.
What this means for the user experience is an open question, but this is a clear margin play for Microsoft. The company competes in multiple areas of the AI infrastructure buildout. In a way that makes this move about controlling the controllables.
