Microsoft Debuts In-House AI Image Generator MAI-Image-1

Microsoft AI has introduced MAI-Image-1, its first text-to-image generator developed entirely in-house. The tech giant describes this new image generator as “the next step on our journey.”

The launch follows Microsoft’s broader strategy to build proprietary AI technologies and promises more immersive and creative experiences for users in the near future.

“MAI-Image-1 marks the next step on our journey and paves the way for more immersive, creative and dynamic experiences inside our products,” the company said in a blog post.

Microsoft sought input from creative professionals to prevent the generation of repetitive or overly generic styles. The company asserts that MAI-Image-1 performs exceptionally well with photorealistic visuals, including lighting effects and landscapes. It also boasts faster processing speeds compared to larger, slower models.

MAI-Image-1 has already earned a place within the top 10 on LMArena, a benchmarking platform where users compare and vote on outputs from various AI systems.

“MAI-Image-1 excels at generating photorealistic imagery, like lighting (e.g., bounce light, reflections), landscapes, and much more. This is particularly so when compared to many larger, slower models. Its combination of speed and quality means users can get their ideas on screen faster, iterate through them quickly, and then transfer their work to other tools to continue refining,” Microsoft said.

MAI-Image-1 is the newest addition to Microsoft’s expanding AI portfolio, alongside products such as the voice generator MAI-Voice-1 and the chatbot MAI-1-preview. Although Microsoft was an early backer of OpenAI, its partnership has become more complex over time, says The Verge.

Recently, Microsoft has incorporated Anthropic’s AI models into select Microsoft 365 features and is investing heavily in developing its own AI technologies, including MAI-Image-1.

“We are committed to ensuring safe and responsible outcomes. That has driven us to begin testing this model in LMArena so that we can gather insights and feedback. We’re excited to be making MAI-Image-1 available in Copilot and Bing Image Creator very soon. For now, give it a try in LMArena and let us know what you think!” Microsoft said.