Model Mondays

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Join us for Model Mondays – a weekly show where we round up all the latest AI model news and put one model in the spotlight for a deeper dive. In this kickoff episode, we’ll set the stage for season 1 by talking about the models we’ll spotlight. Then, we’ll do a deep dive into GitHub Models and show you how you can get started with exploring these hands-on today, with just a GitHub account! Session Resources: https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Series Repo https://aka.ms/model-mondays/discord - Office Hours https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Learning Resources

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Join us for Model Mondays – a weekly show where we round up all the latest AI model news and put one model in the spotlight for a deeper dive. In this episode, we’re joined by Jennifer Marsman as we dive into the world of reasoning models. We’ll get hands-on with the o1 series of models and more as we learn what these models can do, how they work, and how you can use them most effectively for your generative AI application needs. Session Resources: https://aka.ms/model-mondays https://aka.ms/model-mondays/discord https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

In this episode, we’ll dive into the world of retrieval augmented generation (RAG). We’ll explore models that can improve the accuracy of search, retrieval and semantic relevance of returned results – and how you can use them to ground your generative AI app in your data! https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

In this episode, we’ll dive into the world of visual generative AI and learn how text-to-image and image-to-image capabilities can help us generate high-quality imagery with the power of a single prompt. Popular use cases include style transfer, image restoration - given a seed image. https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

In this episode, we’ll dive into the word of fine-tuning for AI model customization. We’ll discuss how it works, when to use it, and tradeoffs to know when choosing this option. And we’ll look at core tools and workflows for performant fine-tuning. https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

In this episode, we’ll go hands on with local AI development by putting the spotlight on the AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code. Join us as we speak to Rong Lu (Principal PM, Microsoft) to learn how this tool helps developers build intelligent apps using generative AI models deployed locally or in the cloud -with support for development, testing, fine-tuning and more. https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Join us for Episode 07 of Season 1 of #ModelMondays as we put the spotlight on open-source and AI development with a look at the Meta #Llama4 herd of recently released models. Huge props to Alexander Hughes for giving us an introduction to the Llama4 capabilities and to Pamela Fox for a hands-on look at multimodal features and more. https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

In this episode, we’ll dive into the topic of domain-specific models with a look at forecasting models trained on time-series data. This allows for predictions and anomaly detection use cases without typical training costs and latency of traditional approaches. Learn how this works, and when to use it effectively in your generative AI applications. https://aka.ms/model-mondays - Explore All Resources https://aka.ms/model-mondays/chat - Continue The Conversation https://aka.ms/model-mondays/collection - Explore The Model Cards https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter - Get The Weekly Recaps

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Learn advanced techniques to improve AI's reasoning and problem-solving skills, enabling smarter and more efficient decision-making.

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Understand how MCP servers' structure and manage context to ensure AI models deliver accurate and relevant outputs, making them scalable.

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Explore how compact language models are designed for high performance and efficiency, perfect for resource-limited environments.

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

How can we streamline the AI developer journey from model selection and usage to evaluation and app deployment? Join us as we talk to Leo Yao about the AI Toolkit and Azure AI Foundry extensions for Visual Studio Code – and the key capabilities they provide for generative AI app & agent development. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Model customization is critical to ensuring the model is optimized for your application requirements. Join us as we talk to Dave Voutila about fine-tuning Azure OpenAI models, using distillation techniques for efficient knowledge transfer, and other best practices in Azure AI Foundry. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Azure AI Foundry Labs is a hub to explore cutting-edge research from Microsoft. Join us as we talk to SeokJin Han and Saumil Shrivastava about two key projects – the MCP Server for Azure AI Foundry, and the Magentic-UI for advancing research on human-in-the-loop experiences with AI. We're also joined by Steve Frederickson, Head of Product and Zachary Meierhoffer, Product Manager at Capacity, who walk through how Capacity's Answer Engine uses Azure AI Foundry models to unlock insights from knowledge that exists across their organizations. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Want to bring the power of AI-assisted development to Azure workflows? Join us as we talk to Sandeep Sen about two key tools – the Azure MCP server, and the GitHub Copilot Extension for Azure – that can help you understand, debug & build with Azure resources and services (beyond just Azure AI Foundry) with the power of natural language. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord 📌 This session is a part of a series! Learn more here

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

On-device inference is critical if you want to run AI models locally, on your own hardware, e.g., for edge computing needs. Join us as we talk to Maanav Dalal about Foundry Local – a solution built on ONNX Runtime (for use in CPUs, NPUs & GPUs) & taking you from prototype to production. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Want to build agentic AI applications but looking for resources to learn configuration and design patterns? Join us as we talk to Mona Whalin about the Azure AI Foundry Agent Catalog – open-source samples you can explore to accelerate your agent development by integration into projects! 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

We’re joined by Mistral AI, the European AI innovator behind Mistral Doc AI, now available as a direct from Azure model in Azure AI Foundry. We’ll dive into how this multimodal, multilingual document processing model unlocks complex unstructured content—turning scanned PDFs, images, and handwritten forms into structured, actionable data. From AI sovereignty to real-world use cases across industries, Mistral will share how Document AI is helping organizations transform their document workflows at scale. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Want to explore speech capabilities (like text to speech, speech to text, translation etc.) in your browser before switching to code? Try the Azure AI Foundry Speech playground. Join us as we talk to Utkarsh Maheshwari about the Speech resource and how we can use it today to transform the user experience in generative AI applications. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:15 PM (UTC)

Observability is about instrumenting AI apps to collect signals that provide insight into model behavior & performance across the GenAIOps lifecycle. Join us as we talk to Han Che about evaluations, red-teaming & end-to-end observability in Azure AI Foundry – for trustworthy AI! 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Did you know the Hugging Face collection on Azure AI Foundry Models currently has over 10K options? When should we use them and how do we select the right one? Join us as we talk about getting started with Hugging Face models on Azure AI – and how you can request new additions. 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Every AI development journey begins with model choice. But what if you had a smart model that routed your request to the best model for the job? Join us as we talk to Sanjeev Jagtap about the Model Router – a chat model that optimizes model choice for cost-effective use in Azure AI! 🔎 Explore the repo 📢 Continue the conversation on the Discord

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Assessing risks to your models and agentic AI apps is critical to building trustworthy AI. Join us as we talk to Minsoo Thigpen about the AI Red Teaming Agent on Microsoft Foundry 1. Learn More 2. Try the Workshop

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Foundry Local provides on-device inference with data privacy, bringing the power of Azure AI with multi-language SDKs to local environments. Join us as we talk to Maanav Dalal about the latest updates to Foundry Local. Learn More Visit The Website

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Want to build scalable AI solutions with multi-agent orchestration on Microsoft Foundry? Join us as we talk to experts on the features and usage of Microsoft Agent Framework

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Join us for this special double-header tech spotlight where we cover two key topics for agentic AI development. First, Dave Voutila joins us to talk about Fine Tuning in Microsoft Foundry. Learn about the latest features and tools to simplify the developer experience for model customization. Next, Guy Gregory joins us for a deep dive into the Responses API. Learn how it unifies the experience across prior chat completion and assistant API capabilities to streamline agent creation in Microsoft Foundry.

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Your model development is only as good as the evaluation and fine-tuning datasets you use! But finding high-quality, safe and diverse data is a challenge. Join us as we talk to William Liang about Synthetic Data Generation capabilities in Microsoft Foundry.

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Building agentic AI solutions requires end-to-end workflows that take you from planning to prototype and production. Join us as we talk to Amir Zur about the Microsoft Foundry portal and the next-gen UI experience.

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

Partner Spotlight- Topic: Hands on With Claude in Microsoft Foundry Join Anthropic for interactive demos of the Claude model family in Microsoft Foundry. They will share guidance on when to use each model and showcase Claude Opus 4.6, Anthropic's most capable model to date, as it connects insights across complex data and automates multi-step tasks. We will also have Scott Kennedy, VP of Engineering at Replit, joining us to showcase how they use Claude models in their production use case. Tech Spotlight- Topic: Microsoft Foundry Agents Microsoft Foundry is a unified platform that combines models, tools, frameworks, and governance into a unified system for building intelligent agents. The Foundry Agent Service connects platform components into a unified runtime with core functionality to deliver secure, scalable, and production-ready agents. Join us as we talk to Bala Venkataraman about what's new and what's next for Microsoft Foundry Agents. 📢 Join the conversation on Discord!

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (UTC)

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT - Speed, Scale, and Control with Black Forest Labs Image Models in Microsoft Foundry Stephen Batifol, Developer Advocate at Black Forest Labs, joins Model Mondays to show how teams use BFL’s generative image models on Microsoft Foundry to move from experimentation to real‑world creative workflows at scale with fewer touch‑ups, stronger brand fidelity, and state‑of‑the‑art image quality. This hands‑on session features a live demo and practical patterns for building scalable image pipelines, so you can ship complete creative campaigns in days, not weeks. TECH SPOTLIGHT - Observability in Microsoft Foundry Building trustworthy AI agents requires an end-to-end observability capability that lets us trace, monitor, and evaluate, agentic task execution at enterprise scale. Join us as we talk to Sebastian Kohlmeier (Principal PM, Core AI @Microsoft) about Observability capabilities in Microsoft Foundry - from tracing to evaluations, monitoring and more. 📢 Join the conversation on Discord! Explore the repo

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Want to plan, build, evaluate, customize, and deploy your agentic AI solutions right from your IDE? The AI Toolkit accelerates end-to-end developer experiences with Microsoft Foundry directly in Visual Studio Code. Join Leo Yao as he showcases the AI Toolkit and demonstrates how it accelerates your development workflow. Learn how to plan, build, evaluate, customize, and deploy agentic AI solutions directly from Visual Studio Code with seamless Microsoft Foundry integration. Customer Spotlight - Arize AI: Arize will join Azure Model Mondays to explore how organizations can build a continuous Responsible AI lifecycle — combining Microsoft Foundry's enterprise-grade evaluation and safety capabilities with Arize AX's observability and experimentation workflows to evaluate, monitor, and improve AI agents at scale in production. 📢 Join the conversation on Discord! Explore the repo

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Foundry IQ is a unified knowledge layer powered by Azure AI Search, allowing agents to query and retrieve data for context engineering. Join Farzad Sunavala as he demonstrates how the unified knowledge layer enables agents to access and utilize enterprise data effectively. 📢 Join the conversation on Discord! Explore the repo

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Partner Spotlight - Running Open Models at Scale: Fireworks AI on Microsoft Foundry Choosing a model is easy. Scaling it reliably is the hard part. In this Model Mondays session, join Shaunak Godbole, Field CTO at Fireworks AI, for interactive demos and a deeper look at how developers can run best‑in‑class open models at scale without managing infrastructure, including bringing the models they already trust through bring‑your‑own‑weights with Fireworks on Microsoft Foundry. Tech Spotlight - Microsoft Foundry MCP Server The Foundry Tools provide a central hub for agents to discover and integrate MCP Servers to extend their capabilities. Join SeokJin Han as he demonstrates the Model Context Protocol integration. Learn how agents can discover and utilize tools through MCP Servers, extending their capabilities with a standardized interface and growing ecosystem Learn more: Fireworks models on Microsoft Foundry (preview) Import custom models with Fireworks (preview) Explore the repo 📢 Join the conversation on Discord!

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Partner Spotlight: Hugging Face - How to build AI with Hugging Face in Microsoft Foundry With open source models, you can build your own AI applications for text, audio, images and more. How do you deploy them securely within your enterprise environment? Join Jeff Boudier from Hugging Face to learn about the latest and greatest open models, and how to easily deploy them in your Azure account with Microsoft Foundry. Technology Spotlight: Agent 365 & Work IQ - Building enterprise agents that you can trust your data with Agents are easy to build but hard to govern, scale, and trust in real work. In this conversation, we unpack why Agent 365 as a control plane is the critical missing layer, and how Work IQ MCP servers turn productivity systems into efficient, fully governable tools for agents. Learn how moving from prompt‑level hacks to platform‑level design unlocks real productivity gains, all of this without sacrificing control. If you care about agents that actually get work done at enterprise scale, this is the paradigm shift that matters. Join Srikumar Nair from Microsoft to learn more about this topic. 📢 Join the conversation on Discord! Explore the repo

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM (UTC)

Partner Spotlight: Cohere joins Model Mondays to show how their cutting-edge AI models accelerate decision-making, improve efficiency, and drive enterprise value. This hands-on session will feature a live demo and real-world use cases to help you work smarter.

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

Want to build Microsoft Foundry agentic AI solutions but don't know where to start and how to keep up with all the models, tools and best practices? What if you could get all the support you needed right in your IDE - and have a coding agent to assist you in discovering and implementing best practices? Join us as we talk to two experts from the Core AI product teams about what's new for building Foundry Agents with VS Code. First we talk to Junjie Li about the latest tools, features and capabilities coming to the Visual Studio Code extensions ecosystem to help you plan, build, and operate, your AI agents - right from your IDE!! Learn how the seamless integration with GitHub Copilot can help accelerate and inform your developer workflows! Then, we talk to Filisha Shah from the Core AI product team about a new preview capability - Foundry Skills - available via the GitHub Copilot for Azure extension. Get a hands-on demo that shows you the power of the observe skill in accelerating the inner loop with support for tracing, evaluations, data generation and more. Explore the repo

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (UTC)

At Microsoft Build, we announced a family of seven new models developed in-house at Microsoft AI. These models form a new multimodal ecosystem designed to work across a variety of real-world tasks - with models to support image, voice, transcription, coding, and reasoning. Join us as we talk to the Microsoft AI models team about what's new in the MAI family, how this works under the hood, and what we can do to use them more effectively for building AI agents. Explore the Resources Read the Newsletter Continue the conversation on the Discord