Microsoft to Spend Another $5.4 Billion to Boost AI in Canada

Azure DevOps Server has reached general availability, marking Microsoft’s launch of a self-hosted DevOps platform that includes ongoing updates and Git-first enhancements. This release is aimed at providing organizations with a robust tool for managing software development and delivery processes.

President Trump has granted Nvidia permission to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to approved customers in China, lifting a previous export ban due to national security concerns. This decision includes a 25% surcharge on sales, marking a significant policy shift in U.S.-China tech relations.

Microsoft is expanding its Azure AI offerings by introducing more model choices through Microsoft Foundry and enhancing hybrid and sovereign deployment options, promoting a flexible approach to AI deployment. This initiative aims to cater to diverse organizational needs and preferences in AI integration.

Microsoft has announced a significant investment of $17.5 billion aimed at advancing artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives in India, marking its largest investment in Asia to date. This commitment is part of Microsoft's broader strategy to enhance its AI capabilities and support the growing tech ecosystem in India.

The introduction of Persian-Phi, a 3.8B parameter model, marks a significant advancement in the adaptation of Large Language Models (LLMs) for low-resource languages, specifically Persian. This model utilizes a curriculum learning pipeline that begins with bilingual narratives to align embeddings before extensive training, challenging the notion that large model sizes are necessary for multilingual capabilities.

Large language models (LLMs) have revolutionized automated software development, enabling the conversion of natural language into functional code, as highlighted in a comprehensive survey on code intelligence. This evolution is exemplified by tools like Github Copilot and Claude Code, which have significantly improved coding success rates on benchmarks like HumanEval.

Anthropic has introduced a beta integration of its Claude Code programming agent with Slack, enabling software engineers to manage coding tasks directly within the messaging platform. This integration aims to streamline workflows by allowing engineers to access critical context, such as bug reports and feature requests, without switching applications.

A recent report indicates that the aging power grid in the United States poses a significant risk to the growth plans of OpenAI and Microsoft, highlighting a potential energy gap that could hinder their operations. This situation raises alarms about the sustainability of their expansion strategies in an increasingly energy-dependent tech landscape.