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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Microsoft is the first cloud to validate Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft is the first cloud provider to deploy and validate Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 systems, marking a significant milestone in the rollout of next-generation AI infrastructure.
Context
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on March 14, 2026, that Microsoft has become the first cloud service provider to validate NVIDIA’s next-generation Vera Rubin NVL72 systems. This milestone follows the platform's initial reveal at CES 2026 and marks a significant leap in AI infrastructure. The NVL72 rack-scale system integrates 72 Rubin GPUs and 36 Vera CPUs, delivering up to 3.6 exaflops of performance—a fivefold increase over the previous Blackwell-based GB200 systems.
This development is central to Microsoft’s strategy of deploying "superfactories" in locations like Wisconsin and Atlanta, which were pre-engineered to handle the extreme power and liquid cooling requirements of the Rubin architecture. By achieving early validation, Azure aims to maintain its lead in the cloud race against AWS and Google Cloud. The systems are expected to enter broader production in the second half of 2026, supporting massive workloads for partners like Anthropic, which recently committed to a $30 billion compute partnership with Microsoft.
Sources (8)
Microsoft, NVIDIA and Anthropic Announce Strategic PartnershipNVIDIA Kicks Off the Next Generation of AI With Rubin — Six New Chips, One Incredible AI Supercomputer | NVIDIA NewsroomMicrosoft’s strategic AI datacenter planning enables seamless, large-scale NVIDIA Rubin deployments | Microsoft Azure BlogMicrosoft, NVIDIA and Anthropic announce strategic partnerships - The Official Microsoft BlogMicrosoft is first cloud to validate NVIDIA Vera Rubin chipsSatya Nadella: Microsoft is first cloud to validate NVIDIA Vera Rubin chips By Investing.comMicrosoft Azure Validates NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72Microsoft Signals Azure Datacenter Readiness for NVIDIA Rubin Platform -- Redmondmag.com
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