Wikipedia

Microsoft Research

Microsoft Research(MSR) is the research subsidiary ofMicrosoft.It was created in 1991 byRichard Rashid,[2]Bill GatesandNathan Myhrvoldwith 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 Awardwinners,[3]Fields Medalwinners,MacArthur Fellows,andDijkstra Prizewinners.

Microsoft Research
Founded1991;34 years ago(1991)
Founders
TypeDivision
OwnerMicrosoft
Key people
SubsidiariesHavok Group
Employees~500[1](in 2016)
Websitewww.microsoft.com/research/

Between 2010 and 2018, 154,000AIpatents 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 has made significant advances in the field of AI which it has infused in its products includingKinect,Bing,Holo Lens,Cortana,Microsoft Translator,Linkedin,HavokandDynamicsto provide its customers with more benefits and better service.[5]

The mission statement of MSR is:

  1. Expand the state of the art in each of the areas in which we do research
  2. Rapidly transfer innovative technologies into Microsoft products
  3. Ensure that Microsoft products have a future

Key people

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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.

Research areas

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Microsoft research is categorized into the following broad areas:[7]

Microsoft Research sponsors theMicrosoft Research Fellowshipfor graduate students.

Research laboratories

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Microsoft has research labs around the world including the following non-exhaustive list:[9]

Microsoft Research Redmond
Microsoft Research Asia, Beijing
Microsoft Research Cambridge
Microsoft 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 Cambridge was founded in the United Kingdom in 1997 byRoger Needhamand is headed byChristopher Bishop.Antony Rowstron andAbigail Sellenare Deputy Directors. The lab conducts research on topics including machine learning, security and information retrieval, and maintains close ties to theUniversity of Cambridgeand theUniversity of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.[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 Station Q, on the campus of theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara,was founded in 2006.[13]Its collaborators explore theoretical and experimental approaches to creating the quantum analog of the traditional bit—the qubit. The group is led byMichael Freedman.[14]Its Quantum Architectures and Computation (QuARC) group is based in Redmond,[15]while other Station Q satellite locations exist on the campuses ofDelft University of Technology,Purdue University,University of Copenhagen,andUniversity of Sydney.[16]
  • Microsoft Research New England was established in 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts adjacent to the MIT campus byJennifer Chayeswho 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 ofMaluubaby 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]

Former research laboratories

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Collaborations

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Microsoft Research invests in multi-year collaborative joint research with academic institutions atBarcelona Supercomputing Center,[24]INRIA,[25]Carnegie Mellon University,Massachusetts Institute of Technology,São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the Microsoft Research Centre for Social NUI and others.[26][27]

Since 2016, Microsoft has partnered with Toyota Connected to research technology fortelematics,data analytics and network security services.[28]

In October 2019, Microsoft partnered withNovartisto applyartificial intelligenceto enhancepersonalized medicineresearch.[29]

In 2023, Microsoft signed a multi-year deal to collaborate withSyneos Healthin development of a platform to leveragemachine learningfor the optimization of clinical trials.[30]

AI for Good

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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.

Quantum computing

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Microsoft Azure Quantumhas researchedquantum information sciencesince 2000 and is developing atopological quantum computerbased on Majorana zero modes.[32]

In 2000, physicistAlexei Kitaevat 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 2005, 2006 and 2008,Sankar Das Sarma,Freedman and Chetan Nayak developed theoretical proposals for a topological qubit using thefractional quantum Hall effectand for topological quantum computing based on non-abelian anyons.[35][36][37]

In 2015, Microsoft developed the theoretical framework ofMajorana zero modesfor 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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Dina Bass, Jack Clark (25 January 2016)."How Microsoft plans to beat Google and Facebook to the Next Tech Breakthrough".Bloomberg.Retrieved3 November2021.
  2. ^"Rick Rashid: Emeritus Researcher".Microsoft.
  3. ^McCraken, Harry (13 February 2019)."Still Boldly Going".Fast Company.
  4. ^Louis Columbus, January 6, 2019Microsoft Leads The AI Patent Race Going Into 2019,Forbes
  5. ^ab"Microsoft research and development expenses".Notesmatic.9 May 2018.
  6. ^Togyer, Jason (7 August 2009)."Still Boldly Going".Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science.
  7. ^"Microsoft Research – Emerging Technology, Computer, and Software Research".Microsoft.Archivedfrom the original on 29 April 2018.Retrieved26 January2017.
  8. ^"Microsoft wants to 'read people's brain waves' to mine cryptocurrency".Independent.co.uk.24 April 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 14 May 2022.Retrieved18 December2020.
  9. ^"About Research at Microsoft – Microsoft Research".Microsoft.Archived fromthe originalon 11 December 2016.Retrieved26 January2017.
  10. ^"Quan vu nghiên cứu viện - vi nhuyễn á châu nghiên cứu viện".www.msra.cn.
  11. ^"Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group".Microsoft.
  12. ^"About Research at Microsoft – Microsoft Research".Microsoft.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2016.
  13. ^Markoff, John (23 June 2014)."Microsoft Makes Bet Quantum Computing Is Next Breakthrough".The New York Times.
  14. ^Fabinger, Michal; Freedman, Michael H.; Weyl, E. Glen (2022). "Prospecting a Possible Quadratic Wormhole Between Quantum Mechanics and Plurality".arXiv:2209.08144[econ.TH].
  15. ^"Station Q: the Quest for a Quantum Future".Microsoft.24 July 2014.
  16. ^"Microsoft's Station Q Sydney investment intensifies global effort to build a quantum economy".Microsoft Australia.25 July 2017.
  17. ^"Microsoft Research New England".Microsoft.
  18. ^"Microsoft Research New York".Microsoft.16 November 2023.
  19. ^"Microsoft Research Montreal".Microsoft.
  20. ^"Gray Systems Lab".Microsoft.
  21. ^"Microsoft Research Asia - Tokyo".Microsoft.
  22. ^"Microsoft establishes a new lab, Microsoft Research Asia – Tokyo".Microsoft.18 November 2024.
  23. ^"Class of 18th September 2014".MSR Silicon Valley. Archived fromthe originalon 24 January 2021.Retrieved6 June2021.
  24. ^"BSC-Microsoft Research Centre - BSC-Microsoft Research Centre".Retrieved26 January2017.
  25. ^"Microsoft Research Inria Joint Centre".Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2012.Retrieved26 January2017.
  26. ^"Academic Programs - Microsoft Research".Archived fromthe originalon 14 December 2008.Retrieved26 January2017.
  27. ^"Microsoft India Development Center - MSIDC".www.microsoft.com.
  28. ^Lippert, John (4 April 2016)."Toyota, Microsoft Team Up on Connected-Car Technologies".Bloomberg.
  29. ^Neville, Sarah (1 October 2019)."Novartis and Microsoft join forces to develop drugs using AI".Financial Times.
  30. ^Keenan, Joseph (20 March 2023)."Syneos in AI-focused pact with Microsoft to speed up trials".Fierce Biotech.
  31. ^"Using AI for Good with Microsoft AI".Microsoft.Retrieved13 December2023.
  32. ^ab"Microsoft hopes to build topological quantum computer".22 November 2016.Retrieved27 August2024.
  33. ^Kitaev, Alexei (2001)."Unpaired Majorana fermions in quantum wires".Physics-Uspekhi.44(10S):131–136.arXiv:cond-mat/0010440.doi:10.1070/1063-7869/44/10S/S29.Retrieved26 June2024.
  34. ^Freedman, Michael; Kitaev, Alexei; Larsen, Michael; Wang, Zhenghan (2002)."Topological Quantum Computation".American Mathematical Society.40:31–38.arXiv:quant-ph/0101025.Retrieved30 August2024.
  35. ^Das Sarma, Sankar; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (2005)."Topologically Protected Qubits from a Possible Non-Abelian Fractional Quantum Hall State".Physical Review Letters.94(16): 166802.arXiv:cond-mat/0412343.Bibcode:2005PhRvL..94p6802D.doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.166802.PMID15904258.Retrieved26 June2024.
  36. ^Das Sarma, Sankar; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (2006)."Topological quantum computation".Physics Today.59(7):32–38.Bibcode:2006PhT....59g..32S.doi:10.1063/1.2337825.Retrieved26 June2024.
  37. ^Nayak, Chetan; Simon, Steven H.; Stern, Ady; Freedman, Michael; Das Sarma, Sankar (2008)."Non-Abelian anyons and topological quantum computation".Reviews of Modern Physics.80(3):1083–1159.arXiv:0707.1889.Bibcode:2008RvMP...80.1083N.doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.80.1083.Retrieved26 June2024.
  38. ^Sarma, Sankar Das; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (2015)."Majorana zero modes and topological quantum computation".npj Quantum Information.1(1): 15001.arXiv:1501.02813.Bibcode:2015npjQI...115001S.doi:10.1038/npjqi.2015.1.
  39. ^Aghaee, Morteza; et al. (2023)."InAs-Al hybrid devices passing the topological gap protocol".Physical Review B.107(24): 245423.arXiv:2207.02472.Bibcode:2023PhRvB.107x5423A.doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423.Retrieved26 June2024.
  40. ^David, Emilia (8 April 2024)."Microsoft says it's cracked the code on an important quantum computing problem".The Verge.Retrieved3 September2024.
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