Azure AI Foundry - A Microsoft Azure platform for developing and deploying generative AI applications.
## Azure AI Foundry Overview
Azure AI Foundry is a platform provided by Microsoft Azure that enables users to develop and deploy generative AI applications and APIs. It offers tools for model selection, customization, security, and full lifecycle management of AI solutions.
## Key Features of Azure AI Foundry
The key features of Azure AI Foundry include:
- **Model Flexibility**: A curated library of over 1700 foundational models from providers like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Hugging Face.
- **Seamless Customization**: Tools for retrieval, fine-tuning, and performance optimization.
- **Trustworthy AI**: Multi-layered security and privacy protections to mitigate risks like data breaches or model misuse.
## Key Features of Azure AI Foundry
Azure AI Foundry supports the following functionalities:
- **Full AI Lifecycle Management**: Integration of AI, data, security, and applications.
- **Model Selection**: Data-driven selection from a catalog of 1700+ models.
- **Development Integration**: Native support for GitHub, Visual Studio, and multiple programming languages (e.g., C#, Python, JavaScript).
- **Secure Deployment**: 99.9% SLA and protection against threats like prompt injection and hallucinations.
## Use Cases of Azure AI Foundry
Azure AI Foundry can be used for:
- **Building AI Systems**: Developing enterprise-grade generative AI applications.
- **Leveraging Azure OpenAI Service**: For tasks like inference and multimodal processing.
- **Knowledge Extraction**: Using Azure AI Search for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
- **Cost Optimization**: Accessing low-cost Phi open models for resource-efficient deployments.
- **Experimentation and Deployment**: Testing, fine-tuning, and deploying models via the Azure AI Model Catalog.
## Payment and Subscription for Azure AI Foundry
Azure AI Foundry operates on a consumption-based billing model, requiring an Azure subscription. Users may need to bind a payment method (e.g., credit card), though specific card types (like Visa) are not explicitly mandated. Detailed pricing is available on the [Azure Pricing Page](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/).
## Accessing Azure AI Foundry
The platform is accessible via its official URL: [https://ai.azure.com](https://ai.azure.com). Users can explore features, documentation, and initiate projects through this portal.
### Citation sources:
- [Azure AI Foundry](https://ai.azure.com) - Official URL
Updated: 2025-04-01