When it comes to artificial intelligence, Microsoft refuses to be left behind. On Wednesday, the Redmond company announced that the R1 model from DeepSeek is now available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub. This surprisingly sudden move comes despite the fact that OpenAI claims DeepSeek built AI models using its data without permission.
“As part of Azure AI Foundry, DeepSeek R1 is accessible on a trusted, scalable, and enterprise-ready platform, enabling businesses to seamlessly integrate advanced AI while meeting SLAs, security, and responsible AI commitments—all backed by Microsoft’s reliability and innovation,” Microsoft CVP Asha Sharma said in a blog post.
Sharma also repeated DeepSeek’s pitch for R1, explaining that its power and low cost will give more users access to state-of-the-art AI without heavy investment.
Of course, Microsoft understands the concerns raised about DeepSeek during its rapid rise to prominence in recent weeks, including the sheer amount of data the Chinese company collects. According to Microsoft, the model “has undergone rigorous red teaming and safety evaluations, including automated assessments of model behavior and extensive security reviews to mitigate potential risks.” Plus, Azure AI has tools like content filtering and the ability to test applications before deployment to protect developers and end users.
If you want to test out DeepSeek R1 through Azure AI Foundry, you will need an Azure account. Once you’re signed in, search for “DeepSeek R1” in the model catalog. After opening the model card, click “Deploy” to obtain the inference API, the key, and access to the playground. You can try out your prompts in the playground to try out R1.
You can also “explore additional resources and step-by-step guides to integrate DeepSeek R1 seamlessly into your applications” on GitHub. Microsoft says Copilot+ PC owners will soon be able to run distilled versions of DeepSeek R1 locally as well.
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