Microsoft Doubles Down on AI Research with Launch of New Lab

As artificial intelligence continues to advance into the mainstream, major technology firms are fighting hard to stay ahead of the competition.

Microsoft is no stranger to investment in artificial intelligence research and development, turning science fiction into reality with the launch of tools like Microsoft Translator.

“When the field of artificial intelligence was founded more than five decades ago, computer scientists could only dream of the type of capabilities that an average consumer might now take for granted,” says Harry Shum, Executive Vice President, Microsoft AI and Research Group. “The intersection of AI with people and society presents us with incredible opportunity and demanding challenges.”

Last year, Microsoft announced the creation of AI and Research, a new group that brought together 7,500 scientists, researchers, and engineers from the company’s research labs and product groups such as Cortana and Azure Machine Learning. The company also launched a venture capital fund targeting AI firms.

This week Microsoft unveiled Research AI, a research and incubation hub within their research organization that is focused on solving AI’s difficult challenges.

“The group will tackle some of the hardest problems in AI and accelerate the integration of the latest AI advances into products and services that benefit customers and society,” says Shum. “We’re doubling down on research as we pursue our mission of empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.”