Microsoft launched a lightweight artificial intelligence model on Tuesday, aiming to attract a wider client base with cost-effective options. The AI model, called Phi-3, is the first of three small language models (SLMs) to be released by the company, as it stakes its future on a technology expected to have a wide-ranging impact on the world and the way people work. This initiative highlights Microsoft’s commitment to advancing AI technology and its potential to revolutionize various industries.
Sébastien Bubeck, Microsoft’s vice president of GenAI research, highlighted the significant cost difference compared to other models with similar capabilities, emphasizing the affordability of Phi-3.He said;
“Phi-3 is not slightly cheaper; it’s dramatically cheaper. We’re talking about a 10x cost difference compared to other models out there with similar capabilities,”
Phi-3-mini will be available immediately on Microsoft’s cloud service platform Azure’s AI model catalog, the machine learning model platform Hugging Face, and Ollama, a framework for running models on a local machine, the company said.
Moreover, Microsoft has been investing heavily in AI. Last week, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in the UAE-based AI firm G42. It has also previously partnered with the French startup Mistral AI to make their models available through its Azure cloud computing platform.