Microsoft Build. My personal review.

For me, this was the first time I had the chance to attend Microsoft Build, at Microsoft's invitation. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect, but I was especially looking forward to the keynote.

And it wasn't just the keynote: I also visited GitHub HQ, saw the event hall, sat in on numerous sessions, and even met Satya Nadella in person.

Holy moly. It truly exceeded all my expectations.

2026 is turning out to be a crazy year for me. It started with NVIDIA GTC in San Jose in March, followed shortly after by a trip to China - Guangzhou and Beijing - then Google I/O in California, and now Microsoft Build, also in California. What a wild ride!

I met incredible people and had fascinating conversations late into the evening about LLMs, chips, energy, geopolitical challenges, financial markets, and so much more.

What impressed me most was the pioneering spirit, the optimistic atmosphere, the enthusiasm for being at the forefront of this tech-revolution. Optimism mixed with passion and a love of building, that's what I take away from all these trips.

Microsoft was no exception. I got a behind-the-scenes look, heard exclusive GitHub sessions, experienced a personal demo of the flagship Surface Laptop Ultra, met researchers, and much more.

My honest take on Microsoft Build: Microsoft is taking feedback seriously and is trying to set things in motion and drive change on every front.

Seven new AI models - clearly not aiming for the absolute top end, but positioned in the mid-range, roughly at Sonnet level, and affordable; a new laptop with a new chip meant to rival the MacBook Pros, which, frankly, at first glance even seems capable of pulling it off; bold experiments like Project Solaris and the agentic handheld (yes, I've read all the Rabbit comparisons :D); a revamped Copilot app; the rollout of agentic features into enterprise editions with a new quantum chip; and plenty more.

It certainly wasn't boring. Time will tell what succeeds, but I'd argue Microsoft is on the right track.