In its weekly AI briefing covering April 12–18, 2026, Microsoft announced several major updates: the launch of MAI-Image-2-Efficient, Copilot's FedRAMP Moderate authorization, and a five-year partnership with Stellantis.
MAI-Image-2-Efficient debuted in Microsoft Foundry, delivering a 41% reduction in image generation costs while maintaining a full render time of 13.70 seconds. The model is aimed at enterprise customers needing high-quality visuals at lower expenses.
Copilot’s FedRAMP compliance marks a critical step for regulated industries. GitHub Copilot achieved both US/EU data residency and FedRAMP Moderate authorization, unblocking deployments in government and highly regulated enterprise environments.
Claude Opus 4.7 is now deployed natively across GitHub Copilot and M365 Copilot, bringing the latest advanced AI capabilities directly into Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Stellantis collaboration: The automaker signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft covering over 100 AI initiatives and 20,000 M365 Copilot licenses. This partnership aims to accelerate AI adoption across Stellantis’s global operations.
Infrastructure moves: Microsoft secured 30,000 NVIDIA Vera Rubin GPUs in Norway and expanded its Wyoming data center by 3,200 acres, signaling continued investment in AI compute capacity.