Build 2026: Project Polaris Replaces GPT-4 Turbo, GitHub Copilot Decouples from OpenAI
Microsoft unveiled Project Polaris in-house coding model at Build 2026, planning to replace OpenAI GPT-4 Turbo as GitHub Copilot's default inference engine starting August 2026, with a 3-month transition period. This marks Microsoft's first formal decoupling from OpenAI at the model layer. Anthropic Claude has been integrated into Copilot, supporting multi-model draft+review collaborative workflows. Microsoft publicly named Claude as a primary target for the first time. Strategic signal: model self-reliance, distribution and runtime are durable moats.
