Azure AI Foundry is a trusted platform designed to empower developers, power users, and organizations to innovate with AI safely, securely, and responsibly. Previously known as Azure AI Studio, it now integrates a variety of AI tools and services from Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, and others, making it a comprehensive ecosystem for creating AI applications.

Core Features and Capabilities

Comprehensive AI Tools

Azure AI Foundry allows users to:

• Build generative AI applications on an enterprise-grade platform.
• Leverage hardware infrastructure like compute, storage, and networking.
• Utilize AI models from various vendors, including over 1,800 pre-built models.

Collaboration and Lifecycle Management

• A built-in lifecycle application model helps teams collaborate, organize, and track AI app development.
• Users can fine-tune base models to create custom AI solutions.

Model Catalog

• Hosts models from vendors like Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, Hugging Face, and Nvidia.
• Filters allow selection based on licensing, vendor preferences, deployment methods, or industry needs.

Flexible Deployment Options

1. Managed Compute: Users define computing power based on requirements.
2. Serverless API: Offers scalable and on-demand execution for tasks.

AI Model Functions

Azure AI Foundry supports a variety of tasks, including:

• Generative AI: Text-to-image and text-to-text generation.
• Natural Language Processing: Chat completion, summarization, translation, and question answering.
• Vision AI: Image classification, object detection, and segmentation.
• Speech AI: Speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and speech recognition.
• Advanced Applications: Embedding, classification, and fine-tuning models for industry-specific needs.

User-Friendly Features

Interactive Studio

• Project Management: Users can create and manage hubs (containers for projects) and individual projects.
• Resource Management: Provides tools to manage API keys, endpoints, and connection strings.
• Model Comparison: Allows users to compare models based on cost, quality, accuracy, latency, and task requirements.

Playground

• A testing ground where users can experiment with various AI services before deployment.
• Supports real-time transcription, text-to-speech conversion, and more.

How to Get Started

1. Access the Portal: Log in at portal.azure.com.
2. Create a Hub or Project: Organize work into hubs and projects for better security, connectivity, and resource management.
3. Explore the Studio: Launch Azure AI Foundry Studio to access features like the model catalog and playground.
4. Filter and Compare Models: Use the model catalog to find suitable models based on your project needs.
5. Deploy and Test: Use deployment options and the playground to ensure your AI solution is effective and aligns with organizational goals.

Azure AI Foundry simplifies the process of building AI applications, ensuring accessibility, scalability, and alignment with responsible AI practices. Its vast catalog, advanced tools, and collaborative features make it an ideal platform for developers, architects, and decision-makers alike.