We advance science and technology to benefit humanity

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Our Research Lens

We consider research directions through the lens of the positive impact we aspire to create with and for customers, communities, and all of society.

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Foundations

Advancing human knowledge and foundational technologies

Science and technology have never been more deeply interconnected. We aim to accelerate and democratize scientific discovery by empowering the global research community with leading-edge tools enabled by artificial intelligence, hyperscale computing and other advances in computing technology. In turn, we aim to draw upon new fundamental insights to inform and inspire new breakthroughs and computing paradigms.

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Trust

Ensuring that technology is trustworthy and beneficial to everyone

Advances in technology can present tremendous opportunities along with equally significant risks. We aim to enable individuals and organizations to understand and govern their data and technology in alignment with human intent and in adherence with applicable regulations.

We create leading-edge tools for realizing technology ethics from principle to practice, engage at the intersection of technology and policy, and ultimately aim to ensure that the continued advancement of technology is safe, secure, and beneficial to society.

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Empowerment

Amplifying human creativity and achievement

We believe that technology exists to amplify human potential and creativity across the breadth of our abilities and circumstances. 

We are focused on empowering people to pursue their goals, to discover meaning in their work and play, and to stay connected to what’s important to them. We aim to create technologies that can understand our intent and context and smoothly adapt, thereby transforming the way individuals engage with machines, data, and each other.

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Discovery

Empowering scientists and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge

We aim to accelerate and democratize scientific discovery by empowering the global research community with leading edge tools enabled by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and hyperscale computing. In turn, we aim to draw upon new fundamental insights to inform and inspire new breakthroughs in computing technology.

If we can unlock and accelerate more scientific exploration and experimentation through advances in computing, we can help achieve breakthroughs across the sciences that will positively impact our world.

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Health

Supporting a healthy global society

We have witnessed incredible progress in advancing science and technology for improving human health, but the benefits of these advancements are unevenly distributed throughout society.

We aim to help ensure that every person on the planet can live to their physical and mental potential by advancing inclusive and equitable technologies supporting the health of individuals and populations. In pursuit of this aim, we collaborate across disciplines and institutions at the intersection of computing technology, health, and life sciences.

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Resilience

Fostering a resilient and sustainable society

The need to address global challenges such as sustainability and pandemic response has never been more pressing.

We aim to create more robust interconnected systems of people and technology capable of identifying societal and ecological patterns and enabling coordinated action. Effective new approaches in these areas will not only help us respond to and recover from systemic disruptions but could ultimately help us anticipate and prevent them.

“Microsoft Research is powered by brilliant, endlessly inquisitive individuals.”

—Peter Lee, CVP, Microsoft Research & Incubations
Researcher working with quantum computer.
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Research
culture

We are rigorous and objective: since its founding in 1991, Microsoft Research has been committed to an academic research approach that advances our understanding of the world and how we use technology to interact with it, and with each other.

We take calculated risks: as an industrial research lab, we contribute ideas that help improve Microsoft’s existing products and services and clear paths to new businesses – but we start from a place of curiosity and exploration. This leads us to take on challenges with an eye toward the longer-term benefit and a willingness to learn from failure as we explore new frontiers.

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We show and share our work: over the past thirty years, our research community and collaborators have published tens of thousands of papers and released hundreds of open-source projects and datasets. Nearly all of the research we produce is shared with the research community.

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We move the conversation forward: Alongside new papers and new inventions, conversations and constructive debate are key to advancing the state of the art across all the sciences and to aligning the research community with the people its research aims to serve. That’s why we share much of our research through conferences, events, and other forums where these important dialogues take place.

We engage with the entire research ecosystem: we work across disciplines – from social sciences to economics, to mathematics and physics and collaborate across the boundaries between research and engineering and with our peers in academia, industry, and government. We learn, build, and amplify research as we convene within the research ecosystem and co-create research that impacts society and the world.

Meet the people who make it possible

We work collectively to make Microsoft Research a welcoming and productive space for all researchers. Our researchers have the opportunity to create and pursue a research agenda with our group’s diverse array of researchers and practitioners, as well as contribute to ongoing research projects.

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Engage with us

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Academic conferences

Events provide opportunities to meet our community of researchers, learn about exciting research topics, and grow your network.

Microsoft Research Forum

Join us for a continuous exchange of ideas about science and technology research in the era of general AI. This series explores recent research advances, bold new ideas, and important discussions with the global research community.

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Academic programs

Microsoft recognizes the value of diversity in computing and aims to increase the pipeline of talent receiving advanced degrees in computing-related fields.

Research tools

We maintain an index of datasets, models, SDKs, APIs, and other open-source code created by Microsoft researchers and shared with the broader academic community.

Labs & locations

Microsoft Research is a research community that works across a network of regional labs and mission-oriented organizations. Learn more about our labs and missions.

Careers in research

Join a brilliant team of researchers working to solve technology’s most exciting challenges. Come as you are. Do what you love.