Microsoft opened its annual Build developer conference in San Francisco by introducing the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a new computer equipped with an Nvidia chip. Chief Executive Satya Nadella called the machine a “dream machine” during the keynote and said there is a wait list to buy it. The launch signaled Microsoft’s effort to strengthen its position in both cloud computing and personal computers as it faces competition from companies including OpenAI.
A central theme was the spread of agentic Artificial Intelligence tools onto laptops and desktops. Microsoft is confronting growing interest in software such as OpenClaw, an open-source system that can coordinate groups of Artificial Intelligence bots, known as agents, to perform everyday tasks. OpenClaw has gained popularity in China and has helped rival Apple sell Mac computers, but such tools are also seen as risky for many businesses. Analysts expect Microsoft to focus on making these agent-style systems safer for companies and easier for the world’s 1 billion users of Windows to use regularly.
Microsoft is also expected to explain how developers will be able to use a new Nvidia chip unveiled on Monday to bring Artificial Intelligence directly to PCs. Executives demonstrated the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box running an Artificial Intelligence model with 120 billion parameters, a level of complexity that most PCs would not be able to load. The device follows a laptop Microsoft introduced with Nvidia this week, underscoring a broader push to move more demanding Artificial Intelligence workloads onto local machines.
The Nvidia chip is expected to appear in laptops priced to compete with Apple’s premium offerings. Its arrival helped lift shares of Microsoft and major PC makers such as Dell Technologies, although analysts said business adoption of the new machines could take time. Microsoft is also expected to share updates on its own Artificial Intelligence models as it tries to compete in areas such as code completion against OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude Code.
