Microsoft Research (MSR) is the research subsidiary ofMicrosoft. It was created in 1991 byRichard Rashid,[2]Bill Gates andNathan Myhrvold with the intent to advance state-of-the-art computing and solve difficult world problems through technological innovation in collaboration with academic, government, and industry researchers. The Microsoft Research team has more than 1,000 computer scientists, physicists, engineers, and mathematicians, includingTuring Award winners,[3]Fields Medal winners,MacArthur Fellows, andDijkstra Prize winners.
Between 2010 and 2018, 154,000AI patents were filed worldwide, with Microsoft having by far the largest percentage of those patents, at 20%.[4] According to estimates in trade publications, Microsoft spent about $6 billion annually in research initiatives from 2002 to 2010 and has spent from $10–14 billion annually since 2010.[5][6]
Microsoft Research includes the core Microsoft Research labs and Microsoft Research AI, Microsoft Research NExT (for New Experiences and Technologies), and other incubation efforts all directed by corporate vice presidentPeter Lee.
Microsoft has research labs around the world including the following non-exhaustive list:[9]
Microsoft Research RedmondMicrosoft Research Asia, BeijingMicrosoft Research CambridgeMicrosoft Research Bangalore
Microsoft Research Redmond was founded on the Microsoft Redmond campus in 1991. It has about 350 researchers and is headed by Donald Kossmann. The bulk of research on the Redmond, Washington campus focuses on areas such as theory, artificial intelligence, machine learning, systems and networking, security, privacy, human–computer interaction, and wearable technologies.[citation needed]
Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA or MSR Asia) was founded in Beijing in November 1998. It has expanded rapidly and now has more than 300 researchers and developers, along with approximately 300 visiting scientists and students (including its new satellite office in Shanghai). Its focus includes natural user interfaces, multimedia, data-intensive computing, search and online advertising, natural language processing, and computer science fundamentals.[10] This lab forms part of the Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group (ARD) R&D center, which also has campuses in Suzhou, Shenzhen, Tokyo, and Taipei.[11]
Microsoft Research India is sited inBengaluru (Bangalore) and is headed by Sriram Rajamani.[12]
Microsoft Research New England was established in 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts adjacent to the MIT campus byJennifer Chayes who also managed the New York and Montreal labs. The lab is now managed bySusan Dumais. The lab collaborates with the broader research community and pursues interdisciplinary research that brings together computer scientists and social scientists to develop future applications.[17]
Microsoft Research New York City was established on May 3, 2012. Susan Dumais serves as Managing Director of this location as well as the New England and Montreal labs. The lab collaborates with academia and other Microsoft Research labs in computational and behavioral social sciences, computational economics and prediction markets, machine learning, and information retrieval.[18]
Microsoft Research Montreal was established after the acquisition ofMaluuba by Microsoft in 2017. Susan Dumais serves as Managing Director of this location as well as the New England and New York City labs. The lab collaborates with academia and other Microsoft Research labs in natural language processing (specifically machine reading comprehension), deep learning and reinforcement learning.[19]
Gray Systems Lab, in Madison, Wisconsin. Named afterJim Gray, GSL opened in 2008 to research database technologies.[20]
Microsoft Research Asia - Tokyo was established in November 2024 and is headed by Yasuyuki Matsushita. The lab focuses on embodied AI, societal AI, well-being and neuroscience, and industry innovation. It collaborates with Japanese academic and industry partners while maintaining close ties with other Microsoft Research Asia facilities. The lab operates various research programs including joint research initiatives and internship opportunities, contributing to AI innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.[21][22]
In 2023, Microsoft signed a multi-year deal to collaborate withSyneos Health in development of a platform to leveragemachine learning for the optimization of clinical trials.[30]
Microsoft's "AI for Good" initiative represents a significant commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence technology for social and environmental benefits. This initiative is part of a broader vision by Microsoft to utilize AI in addressing some of the world's most challenging issues, including those related to health, the environment, accessibility, cultural heritage, and humanitarian action.[31] AI for Good includes topics likeMicrosoft AI for Earth.
In 2000, physicistAlexei Kitaev at Microsoft Research proposed developing a topological quantum computer from Majorana quasiparticles.[33][32]
In 2002,Michael Freedman, who led Microsoft's quantum research at Station Q in 2005, authored a paper with Kitaev demonstrating how a topological quantum computer could perform any computation that a conventional quantum computer could.[34]
In 2015, Microsoft developed the theoretical framework ofMajorana zero modes for information processing through braiding-based topological quantum computing.[38]
In 2023, Microsoft research demonstrated the creation and control of Majorana quasiparticles for topological quantum computing.[39]
In 2024, Microsoft created 4 logical qubits from 30 physical qubits, demonstrating reliable logical qubits by reducing the logical error rate by 800x compared to the physical error rate.[40]
^Fabinger, Michal; Freedman, Michael H.; Weyl, E. Glen (2022). "Prospecting a Possible Quadratic Wormhole Between Quantum Mechanics and Plurality".arXiv:2209.08144 [econ.TH].
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