# Microsoft AI model releases > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/microsoft-ai-model-releases > Updated: 2026-09-04T19:48:37.000Z. Sources: 10. Developments: 2. Microsoft has expanded its AI capabilities through the release of several new models. The company first launched MAI-Transcribe-2, an AI transcription model designed for high-speed, multilingual speech-to-text tasks. Microsoft claims the model is up to 10 times faster than OpenAI’s GPT-Transcribe and five times faster than Google’s Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, featuring a 5.2% average Word Error Rate across 60 languages. MAI-Transcribe-2 includes advanced capabilities such as speaker diarization to distinguish between different voices and word-level timestamps. Positioned as a cost-effective enterprise solution, the service has introductory pricing of approximately $0.10 per hour of audio, aimed at providing savings for high-volume users like call centers. Following this, Microsoft released the MAI-Image-2.6 and MAI-Image-2.6-Flash models via its Foundry developer platform. These models support text-to-image generation and editing, with the Flash version optimized for high-volume, high-speed applications. While the models introduce new pricing structures for text and image tokens, reports have noted discrepancies in Microsoft’s official documentation regarding performance metrics and rankings in industry comparisons. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-04: Microsoft launches MAI-Image-2.6 AI image models in Foundry Microsoft has launched MAI-Image-2.6 and MAI-Image-2.6-Flash on its Foundry platform, though documentation shows conflicting performance and ranking data. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/microsoft-launches-mai-image-26-ai-image-models-in-foundry ### 2026-09-04: Microsoft launches MAI-Transcribe-2 AI speech model Microsoft launched MAI-Transcribe-2, an AI speech-to-text model that is faster, more accurate, and cheaper than competitors from OpenAI and Google, supporting 60 languages and advanced speaker identification. 8 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/microsoft-launches-mai-transcribe-2-ai-transcription-model --- Cite as: Microsoft AI model releases. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/microsoft-ai-model-releases