# Microsoft AI chief says in-house model beats OpenAI's using quarter of compute

Digest AI · Generative AI & Models · published 2026-10-15T03:31:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/microsoft-ai-chief-says-in-house-model-beats-openai-s-using-quarter-of

## Summary

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told employees that the company's in-house model MAI-Base-2 outperforms OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol while using only one-quarter of the computing power for training. He made the claim during a town hall meeting on Thursday, adding that the model also used 12 times less computation than DeepSeek-V4-Pro-Base for pre-training. Microsoft announced MAI-Base-2 earlier the same day and said it performed better on tests measuring pattern understanding and prediction. The comparisons rely on technical information Microsoft says it has about OpenAI's models, though Suleyman noted these were private and confidential evaluations. Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI and holds a stake likely worth over $100 billion, while also using OpenAI models in its own products like Copilot. Both Microsoft and OpenAI declined to comment on the remarks.

## Key points

- Microsoft claims MAI-Base-2 outperforms OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol
- Training used one-quarter of the compute OpenAI used for its model
- Model also used 12 times less computation than DeepSeek-V4-Pro-Base

## Why it matters

The claim highlights growing competition between Microsoft and OpenAI despite their partnership, suggesting Microsoft may reduce reliance on external models through internal efficiency gains.

## Sources

1. [Microsoft AI chief says the company beat OpenAI at its own game, using a quarter of the computing power](https://businessinsider.com/microsoft-ai-ceo-new-model-beats-openai-using-less-compute-2026-10) (businessinsider.com, 2026-10-15)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Microsoft AI chief says in-house model beats OpenAI's using quarter of compute", 15 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/microsoft-ai-chief-says-in-house-model-beats-openai-s-using-quarter-of

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