Microsoft Corp's (NASDAQ:MSFT) two-day Build event continues to showcase the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it reshapes the developer landscape.
Keynote speaker Scott Guthrie, VP of Cloud+AI, emphasized that "AI is transforming the world and developers are at the center of this."
Here's a closer look at the key takeaways for investors from day two:
AI-Powered Developer Tools
Guthrie provided an in-depth walkthrough of Microsoft's Copilot stack, which he described as "the most advanced platform for creating AI capabilities and solutions."
Three of the most-loved developer tools highlighted were Visual Studio, GitHub, and Copilot Studio.
- Visual Studio: With over 40 million active developers, Visual Studio remains a cornerstone for software development, offering robust tools for coding, debugging, and deploying applications.
- GitHub: As the home of open source, GitHub is used by over 100 million developers, facilitating over 4.5 billion contributions annually. The platform's AI-powered developer environment, GitHub Copilot, has revolutionized coding by enabling natural language processing to brainstorm, plan, program, and test code. Recently, GitHub Co-Pilot Workspace was launched, further enhancing productivity for over 500,000 businesses, including giants like Airbnb and Shopify.
- Copilot Studio: Launched last year and now used by over 30,000 organizations, Copilot Studio has seen 175% quarter-over-quarter growth. It helps streamline helpdesk operations and significantly reduces query handling times.
Also Read: Satya Nadella, Microsoft Leading 'AI Arms Race,' Says Tech Bull Amid Redmond's Slew Of New Copilot Announcements
Azure Application Services
Azure's application platform services support a wide range of programming languages and applications. Notable companies like Kohl's and Dick's Sporting Goods leverage these services to run critical applications securely and at scale.
Key announcements included:
- AKS Automatic: The easiest managed Kubernetes experience, simplifying the deployment and management of containerized applications.
- .NET Aspire is now open source: An open-source, opinionated stack for building cloud-native applications, promoting community-driven innovation.
AI Innovations, Integrations
Guthrie highlighted the powerful synergy between GitHub and Azure, offering an end-to-end experience optimized for the AI era. The new GitHub Copilot for Azure enables developers to use natural language for an even more seamless integration with Azure services.
The Azure AI Service continues to be a pivotal component, with over 50,000 companies leveraging its capabilities.
Location technology firm TomTom, for instance, has significantly improved its in-car response times and understanding of complex driver requests, thanks to Azure AI.