Microsoft Foundry
Microsoft Foundry is a unified Azure platform-as-a-service offering for enterprise AI operations, model builders, and application development. This foundation combines production-grade infrastructure with friendly interfaces, enabling developers to focus on building applications rather than managing infrastructure.Rebranding: Azure AI Foundry is now Microsoft Foundry. Screenshots and documentation are being updated to reflect this change.
What is Microsoft Foundry?
Microsoft Foundry unifies agents, models, and tools under a single management grouping with built-in enterprise-readiness capabilities including tracing, monitoring, evaluations, and customizable enterprise setup configurations. The platform provides streamlined management through unified Role-based access control (RBAC), networking, and policies under one Azure resource provider namespace.Build Agents
Create AI agents tailored to your needs with custom instructions and advanced tools
Work with Models
Access cutting-edge AI models from multiple providers with consistent APIs
Deploy at Scale
Transform proofs of concept into production applications with enterprise features
Collaborate
Team-based development with shared resources and secure isolation
Key Capabilities
Multi-Agent Orchestration
Build advanced automation using SDKs for C# and Python that enable collaborative agent behavior and complex workflow execution.Expanded Tool Access
Access the Foundry tool catalog (preview) with over 1,400 tools through public and private catalogs.- Built-in Tools
- Tool Catalog
- Custom Tools
- Code Interpreter: Execute Python code in a sandbox
- Function Calling: Integrate custom business logic
- File Search: Search through uploaded documents
- Bing Search: Access real-time web information
- Azure AI Search: Query indexed knowledge bases
Enhanced Memory Capabilities
Use memory to help your agent retain and recall contextual information across interactions.Memory maintains continuity, adapts to user needs, and delivers tailored experiences without requiring repeated input.
Knowledge Integration
Connect your agent to a Foundry IQ knowledge base to ground responses in enterprise or web content.Real-Time Observability
Monitor performance and governance using built-in metrics and model tracking tools.Tracing
Track agent execution flow
- Request/response pairs
- Tool invocations
- Token usage
- Latency metrics
Evaluations
Measure agent quality
- Accuracy metrics
- Groundedness scoring
- Safety checks
- Custom evaluators
Monitoring
Production health
- Real-time dashboards
- Alert configuration
- Cost tracking
- Usage patterns
Project Types
Microsoft Foundry (classic) supports two types of projects:Foundry Projects (Recommended)
Designed for agent-centric development with the latest capabilities.Available Features:
- Agents (GA)
- Models from Azure and Marketplace
- Foundry SDK and API (full support)
- OpenAI SDK compatibility
- Evaluations (preview)
- Playgrounds and datasets
- Project files API
- BYOK (Bring Your Own Key Vault)
Hub-Based Projects (Legacy)
Traditional projects with broader ML capabilities but limited agent features. Feature Comparison:| Capability | Foundry Project | Hub Project |
|---|---|---|
| Agents | ✅ GA | ⚠️ Preview only |
| Azure OpenAI, DeepSeek, xAI | ✅ Direct | Via connections |
| Marketplace models | ✅ Direct | Via connections |
| Managed compute models | ❌ | ✅ |
| Foundry SDK/API | ✅ Full | Limited |
| Prompt flow | ❌ | ✅ |
Microsoft Foundry API and SDKs
The Microsoft Foundry API is designed specifically for building agentic applications and provides a consistent contract across model providers.Available SDKs
- Python
- C#
- TypeScript
- Java
REST API
Access the full Foundry API via REST:Model Catalog
Access a wide variety of models from multiple providers:Azure Models (Direct Access)
- Azure OpenAI: GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4o
- DeepSeek: DeepSeek-V2, DeepSeek-Coder
- xAI: Grok models
Marketplace Models
- Meta: Llama 3, Llama 2
- Mistral AI: Mistral Large, Mistral Medium
- Cohere: Command, Embed
- Stability AI: Stable Diffusion models
- HuggingFace: Various open-source models
Model Router
Automatically route requests to the best available model:Deployment Options
Publish your agents to multiple platforms:Microsoft 365
Integrate with Teams, Outlook, and other M365 apps
Teams
Deploy as Teams bots for enterprise collaboration
BizChat
Connect to business chat platforms
Containers
Containerized deployments for portability
Enterprise Features
Centralized AI Asset Management
Observe, optimize, and manage 100% of your AI assets in the Operate section:- Register agents from other clouds
- Get alerts when agents or models require attention
- Manage AI fleet health as it scales
- Track usage and costs across all assets
Enhanced Enterprise Support
- Security
- Compliance
- Integration
- Microsoft Entra ID authentication
- Azure Key Vault integration
- Virtual network support
- Private endpoints
- Managed identities
Getting Started
Create a Foundry Resource
Sign in to the Microsoft Foundry portal and create a new workspace.
Create Your First Agent
Use the portal or SDK to create an agent with custom instructions and tools.
Quickstart Example
Create and run an agent in minutes:Pricing
Microsoft Foundry pricing is based on the underlying products you consume:- Platform: Free to use and explore
- Models: Pay per token (varies by model)
- Compute: Pay for VM/GPU hours when used
- Storage: Standard Azure Storage pricing
- Tools: Some tools may have additional costs
Region Availability
Foundry is available in most regions where Foundry Tools are available. For agentic features, check the region support documentation for availability. Recommended Regions:- East US
- West Europe
- Southeast Asia
Resources
Quickstart
Get started with your first agent
API Reference
Complete API documentation
VS Code Extension
Develop agents in your IDE
GitHub Samples
Browse code examples