Another Step Towards a Complete AI Platform

Since inception, our goal with Microsoft Foundry has been to deliver the most complete AI and app agent factory; giving developers access to the latest frontier models, tools, infrastructure, security, and reliability to confidently build and scale their AI solutions.

Today, we're taking another step towards that vision by announcing the public preview of three new models from Microsoft AI  in Microsoft Foundry:

• MAI-Transcribe-1: Our first-generation speech recognition model, delivering enterprise-grade accuracy across 25 languages at approximately 50% lower GPU cost than leading alternatives.
• MAI-Voice-1: A high-fidelity speech generation model capable of producing 60 seconds of expressive audio in under one second on a single GPU.
• MAI-Image-2: Our highest-capability text-to-image model, which debuted on #3 on the Arena.ai leaderboard for image model families.

These are the same models already powering our own products such as Copilot, Bing, PowerPoint, and Azure Speech, and now they're available exclusively on Foundry for developers to use.

We can't wait to see what you create with these new multimedia AI models in public preview. Read on for a deeper look at each model's capabilities and how to start building with them in Foundry!

MAI-Transcribe-1 & Voice-1: End-To-End Voice Experiences

Voice and speech are rapidly becoming the primary interface for the next generation of AI agents, and building great voice experiences requires models that can both speak and listen with precision. With MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-Transcribe-1, Microsoft is delivering exactly that: a comprehensive, first-party audio AI stack purpose-built for developers.

MAI-Voice-1 is a lightning-fast speech generation model capable of producing a full minute of audio in under a second on a single GPU; making it one of the most efficient speech systems available today. On the listening side, MAI-Transcribe-1 supports up to 25 languages and is engineered for enterprise-grade reliability across accents, languages, and real-world audio conditions. But what truly sets it apart is its efficiency: when benchmarked against leading transcription models, MAI-Transcribe-1 delivers competitive accuracy at nearly half the GPU cost; an advantage that translates directly into more predictable, scalable pricing for enterprises¹.

Use cases for MAI-Transcribe-1 and MAI-Voice-1

MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-Transcribe-1 are designed for production use across a broad set of real-world scenarios:

• Conversational AI & Agent Assist: Enable real‑time transcription for IVR systems, virtual assistants, and call‑center workflows to power voice‑driven interfaces, live agent assist, and post‑call summarization.
• Live Captioning & Accessibility: Deliver real‑time captions for large events, enterprise meetings, and digital communications to improve accessibility and inclusivity across spoken experiences.
• Media, Subtitling & Archiving: Automate video subtitling, dialogue indexing, and transcription to support scalable content production, searchability, and long‑term media archiving.
• Education & Training Platforms: Transcribe lectures, learning modules, and certification programs to enhance discoverability, reviewability, and knowledge retention in e‑learning environments.
• Customer & Market Insights: Convert spoken interactions across research interviews, focus groups, and support channels into structured data for downstream analytics and business intelligence.

We're also applying these model capabilities inside Microsoft's own products. MAI-Voice-1 powers the expressive voice experiences in Copilot's Audio Expressions and podcast features. MAI-Transcribe-1 drives Copilot's Voice Mode transcriptions and the new dictation feature, connecting natural voice input with the generative power of Copilot's language models. Both models are available through Azure Speech, where developers can tap into first-party MAI model quality alongside the enterprise-grade reliability, scalability, and 700+ voice gallery of the Azure Speech ecosystem.

Try MAI-Transcribe-1 & Voice-1 Today

MAI-Transcribe-1 and Voice-1 are available now through Azure Speech. Here's how to get started:

• Experiment in MAI Playground: Speak, record, or upload audio to see the models in action at the MAI playground.
• Build in Foundry: deploy MAI-Transcribe-1 and MAI-Voice-1 in Azure Speech. MAI-Transcribe-1 starts at $0.36 USD per hour, while MAI-Voice-1 pricing starts at $22 USD per 1M characters.
• Developers looking to create custom voices using MAI-Voice-1 can do so through the Personal Voice feature in Azure Speech — including the ability to clone a voice from a short 10-second audio sample. Note that custom voice creation requires an approval process consistent with Microsoft's responsible AI policies.

MAI-Image-2: Limitless Creativity For Every Builder

Images are at the center of how developers build compelling AI-powered creative experiences; from marketing tools to content platforms to multimodal agents. MAI-Image-2 is Microsoft's answer to that demand. This model has been developed in close collaboration with photographers, designers, and visual storytellers and debuted in the top-3 text-to-image model families on the Arena.ai leaderboard. It raises the bar across the capabilities that matter most in real creative workflows; more natural, photorealistic image generation, stronger in-image text rendering for infographics and diagrams, and greater precision on complex layouts, detailed scenes, and cinematic visuals.

Use cases for MAI-Image-2

Developers can integrate MAI-Image-2 across a range of high-impact workflows:

• Media & Creative Ideation: Designers, illustrators, and creative teams use text‑to‑image generation to explore visual directions, styles, and compositions early in the creative process—moving from concept to exploration faster.
• Enterprise Communications & Internal Branding: Organizations create custom visuals for internal campaigns, training materials, and executive communications directly from text, ensuring clarity, polish, and brand alignment without relying on stock imagery.
• UX & Product Concept Visualization: Product teams visualize interfaces, workflows, environments, and conceptual product scenarios from text descriptions, helping teams communicate ideas and align early—before engineering or design resources are engaged.

WPP, one of the world's largest marketing and communications groups, is among the first enterprise partners building with MAI-Image-2 at scale, using it to power creative production workflows that previously required significant manual effort.

"MAI-Image-2 is a genuine game-changer. It's a platform that not only responds to the intricate nuance of creative direction, but deeply respects the sheer craft involved in generating real-world, campaign-ready images. WPP has some of the best creative talent in the world and MAI-Image-2 is making them even better."

-Rob Reilly,
Global Chief Creative Officer, WPP

We’re also implementing MAI-Image-2 to power image generation within Microsoft’s own products, including Copilot, Bing Image Creator, and PowerPoint, and now you have access to this powerful, cost effective model for your own apps.

Try MAI-Image-2 Today

• Experiment in the MAI Playground: Preview MAI-Image-2 at MAI playground and share feedback directly with the team.
• Build in Foundry: deploy MAI-Image-2 via the API and start building your apps and agents! MAI-Image-2 starts at $5 USD per 1M tokens for text input and $33 USD per 1M tokens for image output. 

We look forward to your feedback on these models in Foundry.

References:

¹ 1^st on overall WER on the FLEURS benchmark. Out of the top 25 global languages, MAI-Transcribe-1 ranks 1st by FLEURS in 11 core languages. It wins against Whisper-large-v3 on the remaining 14 and Gemini 3.1 Flash on 11 of those 14.