What we learned at Microsoft Build (TL;DR: Agents, Agents, Agents)

MS Build, our favorite developer conference, just started today and we're attending to get the latest scoop and give you real time updates on what Microsoft is announcing. (Spoiler alert: It's a lot of AI, but really cool AI). 

Keynote Highlights

1. Azure AI Foundry

You may have heard of Azure AI Foundry and thinking to yourself what it is. Microsoft calls it their "Agent Factory" but it is essentially Microsoft's answer to building AI applications in the enterprise, without the complexity involved in security and regulation controls around using AI. Microsoft is investing heavily into Azure AI foundry and they are integrating all of your favorite LLM models to use (Llama, GPT4o, DeepSeek V3). 

2. There is no limit to Copilot

We just watched copilot create a solution for a user story in Github and all within the span of an hour. And all they had to do was assign the issue to their copilot agent in Github and everything was done. You can create filters so that it doesn't merge without human PR approval and safety measures that fit your needs. 

In addition, for those using VS Code, Microsoft is now open sourcing the Github Copilot Extension and moving key AI features from the extension into the core product of VS Code. This gives more transparency into how AI works and build on top of AI tools in VS Code.

3. Agentic AI is Here to Stay

MS Build is Agent, Agent, Agent all the time now. If you haven't read it yet, we have a great blog post explaining Agentic AI and how to get started. Microsoft is going all in with Agents. They shared the concept of the open agentic web, where the goal is to have every website embedded with an AI agent to complete complex tasks.

NLWeb is one great example, making it easy to effectively turn any website into an AI app to enhance your websites functionality and interactivity. 

• Azure Migrate now does full code-level assessment - GA today. Useful for scoping legacy app moves without the yak shave.
• GitHub Copilot gets “agent mode.” Refactor a multi-project solution, heal its own compile errors, and run tests - all from one prompt in VS / VSCode. Preview starts now.
• PostgreSQL extension for VS Code (public preview). First-party object explorer, IntelliSense and query history – looks like a decent PG admin inside the IDE.
• SQL Server 2025 preview + SSMS 21 (with Copilot). Native JSON, REST API, semantic search, OneLake mirroring.
• Azure AI Foundry security upgrades. Prompt Shields, PII filters, Defender for Cloud hooks – paranoid people about LLMs touching client data should be happy.
• Entra Agent ID (preview). Unique identity + access control for every Copilot/Foundry agent.
• Windows AI Foundry. Local model catalog & auto-optimized runtimes for Copilot-class PCs
• Bottom line: Microsoft is doubling-down on “agentic” everything – from DevOps to data – and Copilot is going into every tool we touch. Plenty here to accelerate our migration with AI story with customers.

Me & Cheyenne fan-girling with Anders Hejlsberg and Mads Kristensen (the "Fathers" of C# and Typescript)