GoKawiilCorinne Reichert/CNET
With Microsoft Build 2026 coming to a close on Wednesday afternoon, that's a wrap on all the major announcements, demonstrations and displays from the company's annual developer conference.
From the flurry of AI updates to live demos of the AI capabilities of its new laptop, Microsoft was able to show what its new advancements can actually do for developers, AI agents, scientists, businesses, consumers and more. Plus, with surprise appearances by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (via video link, at least), OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger and, for some reason, The Chainsmokers, the lengthy keynote remained interesting for its 2.5-hour run.
Some of the bigger revelations were Project Solara and its AI agent-first device prototypes, a new image-generating AI tool that competes with Google's Nano Banana Pro, Microsoft's first reasoning model, a new quantum computing chip and Bing for bots.
As for what it was like on the ground for the past two days, Microsoft filled multiple buildings with colorful displays, tech showcases, stages, live podcasts, T-shirt screen printing, a gaming lounge, an AI image generator where you could create and print images, prize machines to win Clippy pins and Build Quest to complete challenges and earn points -- and even a whole Mercedes AMG Formula 1 car was on display.
A Mercedes AMG Formula 1 car at Microsoft Build 2026. Corinne Reichert/CNET
Fort Mason Center, which was once a military base and juts out onto the bay, has views of the looming Alcatraz and the shrouded-in-fog Golden Gate Bridge. Microsoft made it a vibrant space for the 2,500 people at Build this year.
The only fly in the ointment was an anti-AI data center protest at the entrance to Microsoft Build, although Nadella said during a live podcast earlier on Tuesday that "it's good for communities to be skeptical" and ask questions about whether a new data center will benefit their community.
Alcatraz can be seen from Fort Mason Center. Corinne Reichert/CNET
CNET Social Media Manager Faith Chihil, who accompanied me to Build and was also present during Google I/O last month, said the Microsoft conference had better food, both in terms of variety and availability.
... continue reading