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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. For years, Microsoft's AI story was really OpenAI's story. At Build 2026, it felt like the tech giant was finally writing its own path. |
With seven new in-house models, an OpenClaw-based agent, agent-first hardware, and more, Microsoft stopped looking like a distribution partner and started looking like the company rebuilding the agent era around its own rails. |
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In today’s AI rundown: |
Microsoft kicks off Build with models, agents, and qubits Trump softens AI executive order into voluntary review Use Claude Design’s slide decks feature like a pro Legendary Hollywood director opens the door to AI 4 new AI tools, community workflows, and more
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MICROSOFT |
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Image source: Microsoft |
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The Rundown: Microsoft just made a full-stack agentic AI push at Build 2026, releasing new models, its first always-on agent, a quantum chip, a platform for “agent-first” devices — positioning Windows and Microsoft 365 as the control layer for agents. |
The details: |
Microsoft AI released seven new MAI in-house models spanning reasoning, coding, image, voice, and transcription, with access through Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft Scout, its first "Autopilot" agent built on OpenClaw, runs in Teams and takes proactive actions like scheduling meetings and prepping materials. Majorana 2, a quantum chip AI agents helped design, shows a 1,000x reliability improvement, speeding timelines for a usable machine to as soon as 2029. The company previewed Project Solara, an upcoming platform for agentic devices, with hardware concepts including a badge and desk companion. On the heels of its Surface Laptop Ultra reveal, Microsoft also introduced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a new mini-PC built for AI workloads.
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Why it matters: Build is a timely piggyback off of Nvidia’s big day, with Microsoft following the agentic theme and even partnering with the chipmaker for AI laptops and PCs. With in-house models, an OpenClaw agent, and agentic hardware, Microsoft is paving a bold new path in the first year of independence from OpenAI’s shadow. |
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TOGETHER WITH TELEPORT |
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The Rundown: AI agents are touching your production systems without an identity. Teleport gives every autonomous agent a unique, cryptographic identity with least-privileged, JIT access that expires automatically. |
With Teleport, you get: |
4.5x fewer security incidents An audit log of every prompt, query, and tool call A unique cryptographic identity per agent
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Ready to Teleport? |
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AI & THE GOVERNMENT |
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Image source: The White House |
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The Rundown: U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order asking AI labs to voluntarily hand frontier models to the government for a 30-day security review before release — retreating from the previously expected 90-day requirement. |
The details: |
Trump scrapped a 90-day draft hours before a planned May 21 ceremony, telling reporters it would "get in the way of" the U.S. AI race with China. Labs are asked to share “covered frontier models” flagged by a classified process as capable of finding security flaws in a 30-day window before launch. Former AI czar David Sacks, who reportedly fought the first draft, came around once the review window shrank from 90 days to 30. The order also rules out any mandatory licensing or permits for new models, and directs the DOJ to go after AI-powered hacking of computer systems.
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Why it matters: With Anthropic’s Claude Mythos nearing a public release and GPT-5.6 likely to have similar capabilities, the cybersecurity threats are becoming very real, very fast. But this EO looks more like the government pushing for a (voluntary) front-row seat to the frontier AI action more than a fix for a potential security concern. |
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AI TRAINING |
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The Rundown: In this guide, you will learn how to use Claude Design to turn your raw data into a useful strategy deck complete with actual insights. Claude Design analyzes what is working and gives concrete recommendations your team can use. |
Step-by-step: |
Start with a messy CSV report (YT data, Facebook ads, etc.) and decide what the deck needs to do (like find patterns and turn it into a repeatable system) Open claude.ai/design, choose Slide deck, skip the design system, toggle on speaker notes, and upload your data Prompt: “Turn these files into a strategy deck on performance. Analyze the results by item and extract best practices from the data and assets. Use charts, rankings, and concrete recommendations. Match images or creative files to CSV using the filename or matching field. Keep it presentation-ready” Generation will take 10-15 minutes. You can export to PowerPoint or Google Slides when it's ready
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Pro tip: Duplicate the project and upload more data sources for Claude to incorporate into the presentation. |
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PRESENTED BY GITLAB |
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The Rundown: Agentic AI is reshaping software development, and the leaders adopting it early are setting the pace. GitLab Transcend streams live from London on June 10 with unfiltered insights from peers deploying it now — plus an early look at where GitLab is taking it next. |
With GitLab Transcend, you'll get: |
Unfiltered insights from peers deploying agentic AI An early look at GitLab's roadmap New research and live demos All virtual, streaming from London
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Register for free today. |
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AI & HOLLYWOOD |
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Image source: Black Forest Labs |
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The Rundown: Martin Scorsese just went public as an adviser to AI image startup Black Forest Labs, with a new video detailing the Academy Award-winning director using the company’s FLUX model to help storyboard a new film. |
The details: |
Scorsese signed on last year as a partner and adviser to Black Forest Labs, utilizing its FLUX AI image models for preproduction of a new film. His use is for storyboarding only, with no generated actors, sets, or footage — calling being able to share a storyboard instantly "creatively freeing." Scorsese also said that “Cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve”.
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Why it matters: This is going to ruffle some anti-AI Hollywood feathers, but a figure of Scorsese’s level coming out in support of an AI tool is a big deal. It’s also a good example of using the tech in a way that aids the creative process without replacing it, a more stomachable entry point for skeptical filmmakers than full AI films or studios. |
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🤖 MAI - Microsoft AI’s in-house model family, with seven new models 🖥️ Holo3.1 - H Company’s upgraded computer use model, running fully locally 💻 Hermes Desktop - Nous Research's agent as a native desktop app 🚀 Codex - OpenAI’s agentic coding tool with new Sites, role-specific plugins
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Anthropic expanded Project Glasswing, giving 150 new organizations across 15 countries access to its powerful Claude Mythos Preview model. |
OpenAI launched new Codex updates, including Sites that allow users to create and share hosted websites and apps, alongside new role-specific plugins across domains. |
Cognition rebranded its Windsurf IDE as Devin Desktop, a single surface for running agents locally or in the cloud, with support across agents like Codex and Claude. |
Famed investor Elad Gil said humanity is “likely in very early lift off and exponential”, saying the models released in December crossed a major technological threshold. |
Google's parent company, Alphabet, is selling $80B in stock to fund its AI infrastructure expansion, with the company planning up to $190B in spending this year. |
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Every newsletter, we showcase how a reader is using AI to work smarter, save time, or make life easier. |
Today’s workflow comes from reader An in Cape Town, Africa: |
"I wanted to analyse the income and expenses of our Airbnb properties to see trends and if Claude could give me some recommendations. So I used Cowork and pointed it to my folder where all income and expenses info (including the agent, property management costs, and income, rates and taxes, internet costs, etc.) is stored. |
Claude analysed all the files and came up with a Five Tab Dashboard: Overview, Net Income & Trends, Expenses, Occupancy & ADR, and Recommendations. It is fully interactive, and I can look at each property individually and all together, see trends over the years, and look at how low season impacts our income. |
I used to have to go through every single invoice and put it into a spreadsheet, which took a lot of time, and therefore, I did not do it as often as I should or wanted to. Now, with all the graphs and everything included, it makes it much easier to analyse the data.” |
How do you use AI? Tell us here. |
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That's it for today!Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's newsletter to help us improve The Rundown experience for you. |
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See you soon, |
Rowan, Joey, Zach, Shubham, and Jennifer — the humans behind The Rundown |
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