What did the AI Frontiers group build?

According to Langford, AI Frontiers worked on agent systems, including the Autogen orchestration framework and the Fara computer-use agent. Some members also worked on model capabilities such as the Next Latent objective, Dion3 and the Full Bandwidth Transformer, and kept a monorepo for model building shared across Microsoft Research.

Are AI Frontiers internships still available?

No. Langford writes that AI Frontiers is ending and that there will be no AIF internships in the coming year. He also says he did not return to Microsoft Research, and that every other founding AIF leader reached a similar conclusion about leaving.

John Langford · 2026-11-06 · major

Microsoft Research Closes AI Frontiers — the group behind Autogen

In short

Microsoft Research's AI Frontiers group is ending, John Langford writes. The roughly 50-person team behind Autogen and the Fara agent was folded into Microsoft AI in September, and its leaders have left.

John Langford · 2026-11-06 · 3 sources checked

Microsoft Autogen GitHub repository card

Microsoft Research's AI Frontiers group, home of Autogen and Fara, is shutting down after a reorganization into Microsoft AI.

Quick facts

Group	Microsoft Research AI Frontiers (AIF)
Formed	2023
Size	About 50 people
Reorganized into	Microsoft AI (MAI), early September
Source	Blog post by John Langford, 2026-11-06

What is it?

AI Frontiers (AIF) was a Microsoft Research group formed in 2023 after ChatGPT launched. John Langford, one of its founding leaders, says it had about 50 people and is now ending, with no AIF internships planned for the coming year.

How does it work?

In early September, AIF was reorganized into Microsoft AI (MAI). Langford writes that MAI's leadership, from the former Inflection team, favors scaling over research, which he says made the two groups incompatible. He left, and says every other founding AIF leader reached a similar conclusion.

Why does it matter?

AIF built agent systems such as the Autogen framework and the Fara computer-use agent, and did model research such as the Next Latent objective. Langford argues research returns are real and that scaling-only strategies are misdirected. That is his opinion, not a Microsoft statement.

Who is it for?

Autogen users and AI researchers

Frequently asked questions

Why did Microsoft Research's AI Frontiers group end?: John Langford writes that AI Frontiers was reorganized into Microsoft AI in early September. He says MAI's leadership, from the former Inflection team, favors scaling over research, and that this made the groups incompatible. He is describing his own view; Microsoft is not quoted in the post.
What did the AI Frontiers group build?: According to Langford, AI Frontiers worked on agent systems, including the Autogen orchestration framework and the Fara computer-use agent. Some members also worked on model capabilities such as the Next Latent objective, Dion3 and the Full Bandwidth Transformer, and kept a monorepo for model building shared across Microsoft Research.
Are AI Frontiers internships still available?: No. Langford writes that AI Frontiers is ending and that there will be no AIF internships in the coming year. He also says he did not return to Microsoft Research, and that every other founding AIF leader reached a similar conclusion about leaving.

Try it

https://github.com/microsoft/autogen