Azure AI Foundry Models: Futureproof Your GenAI Applications

Years of Rapid Growth and Innovation 

The Azure AI Foundry Models journey started with the launch of Models as a Service (MaaS) in partnership with Meta Llama at Ignite 2023. Since then, we’ve rapidly expanded our catalog and capabilities: 

• 2023: General Availability of the model catalog and launch of MaaS 

• 2024: 1800+ models available including Cohere, Mistral, Meta, G42, AI21, Nixtla and more, with 250+ OSS models deployed on managed compute 

• 2025 (Build): 10000+ models, new models sold directly by Microsoft, more managed compute models and expanded partnerships, introduction of advanced tooling like Model Leaderboard, Model Router, MCP Server, and Image Playground 

 

GenAI Trends Reshaping the Model Landscape 

To stay ahead of the curve, Azure AI Foundry Models is designed to support the most important trends in GenAI: 

• Emergence of Reasoning-Centric Models 

• Proliferation of Agentic AI and Multi-agent systems 

• Expansion of Open-Source Ecosystems 

• Multimodal Intelligence Becoming Mainstream 

• Rise of Small, Efficient Models (SLMs) 

These trends are shaping a future where enterprises need not just access to models—but smart tools to pick, combine, and deploy the best ones for each task. 

 

A Platform Built for Flexibility and Scale 

Azure AI Foundry is more than a catalog—it’s your end-to-end platform for building with AI. You can: 

• Explore over 10000+ models, including foundation, industry, multimodal, and reasoning models along with agents. 

• Deploy using flexible options like PayGo, Managed Compute, or Provisioned Throughput (PTU) 

• Monitor and optimize performance with integrated observability and compliance tooling 

Whether you're prototyping or scaling globally, Foundry gives you the flexibility you need. 

 

Two Core Model Categories 

1. Models Sold Directly by Microsoft 

These models are hosted and billed directly by Microsoft under Microsoft Product Terms. They offer: 

• Enterprise-grade SLAs and reliability
• Deep Azure service integration 
• Responsible AI standards 
• Flexible usage of reserved quota by using Azure AI Foundry Provisioned Throughput (PTU) across direct models including OpenAI, Meta, Mistral, Grok, DeepSeek and Black Forest Labs. 
• Reduce AI workload costs on predictable consumption patterns with Azure AI Foundry Provisioned Throughput reservations. Learn more here 

Coming to the family of direct models from Azure: 

• Grok 3 / Grok 3 Mini (from xAI) 

• Flux Pro 1.1 Ultra (from Black Forest Labs) 

• Llama 4 Scout & Maverick (from Meta) 

• Codestral 2501, OCR (from Mistral) 

2. Models from Partners & Community 

These models come from the broader ecosystem, including open-source and monetized partners. They are deployed as Managed Compute or Standard PayGo, and include models from Cohere, Paige and Saifr.

We also have new industry models joining this ecosystem of partner and community models 

• NVIDIA NIMs: ProteinMPNN, RFDiffusion, OpenFold2, MSA 

• Paige AI: Virchow 2G, Virchow 2G-mini 

• Microsoft Research: EvoDiff, BioEmu-1 

 

Expanded capabilities that make model choice simpler and faster 

Azure AI Foundry Models isn’t just about more models. We’re introducing tools to help developers intelligently navigate model complexity: 

1. Model Leaderboard 

Easily compare model performance across real-world tasks with: 

• Transparent benchmark scores 

• Task-specific rankings (summarization, RAG, classification, etc.) 

• Live updates as new models are evaluated 

Whether you want the highest accuracy, fastest throughput, or best price-performance ratio—the leaderboard guides your selection. 

2. Model Router 

Don’t pick just one—let Azure do the heavy lifting. 

• Automatically route queries to the best available model 

• Optimize based on speed, cost, or quality 

• Supports dynamic fallback and load balancing 

This capability is a game-changer for agents, copilots, and apps that need adaptive intelligence. 

3. Image/Video Playground

A new visual interface for: 

• Testing image generation models side-by-side 

• Tuning prompts and decoding settings 

• Evaluating output quality interactively 

This is particularly useful for multimodal experimentation across marketing, design, and research use cases. 

4. MCP Server

Enables model-aware orchestration, especially for agentic workloads: 

• Tool use integration 

• Multi-model planning and reasoning 

• Unified coordination across model APIs 

 

A Futureproof Foundation 

With Azure AI Foundry Models, you're not just selecting from a list of models—you’re stepping into a full-stack, flexible, and future-ready AI environment: 

• Choose the best model for your needs 

• Deploy on your terms—serverless, managed, or reserved 

• Rely on enterprise-grade performance, security, and governance 

• Stay ahead with integrated innovation from Microsoft and the broader ecosystem 

The AI future isn’t one-size-fits-all—and neither is Azure AI Foundry. Explore Today : Azure AI Foundry