Microsoft Corp. has created in-house artificial intelligence models it believes can go toe-to-toe with industry leaders including partner OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The Redmond-based company has begun developing a family of models internally called “MAI,” which reportedly perform nearly as well as leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic on standard industry benchmarks. This development marks a significant shift in Microsoft’s AI strategy, potentially reducing its heavy reliance on OpenAI’s technology.