Microsoft is making a significant push into artificial intelligence (AI) with the creation of a new engineering group, CoreAI – Platform and Tools, led by former Meta engineering chief Jay Parikh. This move marks a major reorganization of the company's developer division, which will now focus entirely on AI.

The new division will combine Microsoft's Dev Div and AI platform teams, along with some employees from the Office of the CTO team, to build an AI platform and tools for both Microsoft and its customers. According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, this shift is crucial for the company to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

In an internal memo, Nadella outlined his vision for this new team, using a cricket analogy to describe the "next innings of this AI platform shift" in 2025. He believes that every part of the application stack will be impacted by AI, and that "thirty years of change is being compressed into three years!" To prepare for this change, Nadella sees the need for an "AI-first app stack" inside Microsoft, which will transform how its own developers use and build AI apps and tools in the future.

Nadella envisions Azure becoming the infrastructure for AI, with Microsoft's AI platform and developer tools – including Azure AI Foundry, GitHub, and VS Code – built on top of it. This will enable the creation of agents that will revolutionize every SaaS application category, and custom application development will be driven by software (i.e., "service as software").

Parikh, who previously led Meta's engineering efforts for over a decade, will spearhead this new group as the executive vice president of CoreAI - Platform and Tools. He reports directly to Nadella and is a member of Microsoft's senior leadership team. Several other Microsoft executives, including AI platform chief Eric Boyd, deputy CTO of AI infrastructure Jason Taylor, head of Microsoft's developer division Julia Liuson, and head of developer infrastructure Tim Bozarth, will report to Parikh in his new role.

This reorganization is a significant indication of Microsoft's commitment to AI and its recognition of the technology's potential to reshape the entire application ecosystem. By combining its Dev Div and AI platform teams, Microsoft is positioning itself to drive innovation and growth in the AI space.

The implications of this move are far-reaching, with potential impacts on various industries and application categories. As Microsoft continues to build its AI platform and tools, it will be interesting to see how this shift affects the company's relationships with its customers and partners, as well as the broader tech landscape.

In conclusion, Microsoft's creation of the CoreAI – Platform and Tools division marks a significant milestone in the company's AI journey. With Parikh at the helm, Microsoft is poised to drive meaningful innovation and growth in the AI space, and its commitment to AI will likely have a lasting impact on the tech industry as a whole.