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Home/Models & Labs
Models & Labs

Microsoft Unveils AI Models and Agentic Hardware at Build 2026

The Rundown AI·June 3, 2026·high confidence

Why it matters

  • →Microsoft's new AI models and agentic hardware mark a shift towards independence from OpenAI.
  • →The Majorana 2 quantum chip could accelerate the timeline for practical quantum computing.
  • →Microsoft's developments position its platforms as central to the future of agentic AI.
Microsoft Unveils AI Models and Agentic Hardware at Build 2026
©The Rundown AI

At Build 2026, Microsoft unveiled a suite of AI advancements, including seven new in-house models and its first always-on agent, Microsoft Scout. Built on OpenClaw, Scout operates within Teams to automate tasks like scheduling. The company also showcased the Majorana 2 quantum chip, which boasts a 1,000x reliability improvement, hinting at faster quantum computing progress. These moves signal Microsoft's intent to lead in AI innovation, positioning its platforms as key players in the agentic AI era.

Read original

The story around this

Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.

Microsoft Showcases Advances at NSDI 2026 — Microsoft Research1NVIDIA Launches Vera CPU for Agentic AI — NVIDIA Blog2Microsoft Research Unveils MagenticLite for Small Models — Microsoft Research3NVIDIA Jetson Advances Agentic AI in Robotics — NVIDIA Blog4Nvidia Unveils AI Agent-Centric Tech at COMPUTEX — The Rundown AI5Microsoft Launches AI Assistant Scout on OpenClaw — The Verge AI6Microsoft Introduces Scout, an AI Office Assistant — WIRED AI7Microsoft unveils Scout, AI assistant for 365 users — TechCrunch AI8Microsoft Unveils AI Models and Agentic Hardware at Build 2026Microsoft pivots to independent AI development — The Verge AI9Microsoft Faces Challenges Amid AI Push — WIRED AI10Microsoft Launches AI Agent 'Scout' at Build — Matt Wolfe11Microsoft Aims to Develop In-House AI Models — Matt Wolfe12Microsoft Unveils AI Cybersecurity Model and Platform — TechCrunch AI13May 5You are hereJul 27

How we got here

  1. 1
    Microsoft Showcases Advances at NSDI 2026

    Microsoft Research · May 5, 2026 · Related

  2. 2
    NVIDIA Launches Vera CPU for Agentic AI

    NVIDIA Blog · May 18, 2026 · Background

  3. 3
    Microsoft Research Unveils MagenticLite for Small Models

    Microsoft Research · May 21, 2026 · Related

  4. 4
    NVIDIA Jetson Advances Agentic AI in Robotics

    NVIDIA Blog · June 2, 2026 · Related

  5. 5
    Nvidia Unveils AI Agent-Centric Tech at COMPUTEX

    The Rundown AI · June 2, 2026 · Related

  6. 6
    Microsoft Launches AI Assistant Scout on OpenClaw

    The Verge AI · June 2, 2026 · Related

  7. 7
    Microsoft Introduces Scout, an AI Office Assistant

    WIRED AI · June 2, 2026 · Related

  8. 8
    Microsoft unveils Scout, AI assistant for 365 users

    TechCrunch AI · June 2, 2026 · Related

What happened next

  1. 9
    Microsoft pivots to independent AI development

    The Verge AI · June 3, 2026 · Related

  2. 10
    Microsoft Faces Challenges Amid AI Push

    WIRED AI · June 5, 2026 · Related

  3. 11
    Microsoft Launches AI Agent 'Scout' at Build

    Matt Wolfe · June 8, 2026 · Related

  4. 12
    Microsoft Aims to Develop In-House AI Models

    Matt Wolfe · June 9, 2026 · Related

  5. 13
    Microsoft Unveils AI Cybersecurity Model and Platform

    TechCrunch AI · July 27, 2026 · Related

Follow this story

Open the full story →

Microsoft to unveil new AI models at Build

6 developments

  1. Jun 1 · The Verge AI
    Microsoft to unveil new AI models at Build
  2. Jun 2 · The Verge AI
    Microsoft Unveils MAI-Thinking-1 AI Model↳ Microsoft unveiled MAI-Thinking-1, an independently developed reasoning model, shifting away from reliance on OpenAI.
  3. Jun 2 · The Verge AI
    Microsoft Build 2026 Highlights AI Innovations↳ Microsoft unveiled the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box with Nvidia's new Arm chip, Scout assistant, and Project Solara Android OS.
  4. Jun 3 · The Rundown AI
    Microsoft Unveils AI Models and Agentic Hardware at Build 2026 (This article)↳ Microsoft unveiled seven new in-house models, the Scout agent, and the Majorana 2 quantum chip with 1,000x reliability improvements.
  5. Jun 3 · AI News
    Microsoft's Majorana 2 Chip Showcases Agentic AI in R&D↳ Majorana 2 chip qubits are 1,000 times more reliable with a 20-second lifetime.
  6. Jun 8 · Matt Wolfe
    Microsoft Unveils 7 New AI Models at Build↳ Microsoft unveiled seven new AI models covering reasoning, coding, images, and voice.

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