Microsoft Build 2026 Kicks Off Today With CEO Satya Nadella Expected to Double Down on AI

Microsoft will hold its annual software developer conference on Tuesday, where the company is expected to showcase ​new tools for developers building AI software for PCs and ‌the cloud.

In a keynote address in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to outline how the technology company plans to compete both in the ​cloud, where it is both an investor and a rival ​to firms such as OpenAI, and increasingly on PCs.

Those laptop ⁠and desktop computers are becoming home to tools such as OpenClaw, ​a piece of open-source software that can direct groups of AI ​bots called agents to carry out everyday tasks for users.

But OpenClaw, which has gained popularity in China and helped Microsoft's longtime rival Apple sell Mac computers, and other ​such tools are also risky for most businesses to use.

Analysts expect ​Microsoft to work on making such agentic AI tools safer for businesses and the ‌world's ⁠1 billion users of its Windows operating system to use on a regular basis. They also expect more details on how Microsoft will let developers tap a new chip from Nvidia unveiled on Monday to help ​bring AI directly to ​PCs.

The chip ⁠will go into laptops priced to compete with Apple's premium offerings, and its release helped boost shares of ​both Microsoft and major PC makers such as ​Dell Technologies, ⁠though analysts said it may take time for businesses to adopt the new machines.

Analysts also expect Microsoft to provide updates on its own AI models, ⁠using ​which it aims to compete in fields ​such as code completion with OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code.

Nadella's keynote begins at 1 ​pm ET (10.30 pm IST). It will be available to stream on Microsoft's website and Microsoft Developer YouTube channel in India and elsewhere.