Microsoft prepares new AI model to rival Google and OpenAI, according to The Information.

According to a report from The Information on Monday, Microsoft is developing a new AI language model internally that is on par with those created by Google and OpenAI.

The new model, internally called MAI-1, is overseen by recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google DeepMind and former CEO of artificial intelligence firm Inflection, the report cited two Microsoft employees with knowledge of the effort.

The exact purpose of the model has yet to be determined and will depend on how well it performs. According to the report, Microsoft could preview the new model as soon as its Build developer conference later this month.

Microsoft declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

MAI-1 will be “much larger” than the smaller open-source models previously trained by Microsoft, which means more expensive, according to the report.

Microsoft launched a smaller AI model called the Phi-3-mini last month as it aims to appeal to a wider customer base with cost-effective options.

The company has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and adopted the ChatGPT maker’s technology in its productivity software, enabling it to be an early leader in AI competition.

According to the report, Microsoft has reserved a large number of servers equipped with Nvidia graphics processors and large amounts of data to improve the model.

According to the report, MAI-1 has about 500 billion parameters, while OpenAI’s GPT-4 has a trillion parameters and Phi-3 mini has 3.8 billion parameters.

In March, Microsoft tapped Suleyman to lead its newly formed consumer AI unit and hired several Inflection employees.

The new model is not carried over from Inflection, although it may be based on training data received during the launch, the report added.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Sriraj Kalluvila)