Microsoft stock
Microsoft announced the general availability of its "Maia 200" AI accelerator on June 30, 2026, claiming a 2.5x performance improvement over the previous generation for large language model inference. The new silicon, developed in--house, is now powering 30% of all Azure OpenAI Service workloads, significantly reducing Microsoft's reliance on external GPU vendors. This vertical integration is expected to improve Azure's gross margins by approximately 200 basis points over the next fiscal year.