Microsoft today unveiled Project Solara, a new chip‑to‑cloud platform designed to power a generation of agent‑first enterprise devices—hardware built to run AI agents instead of traditional applications. Announced at the Microsoft Build 2026 Developer Conference on June 2, 2026, the platform is developed by Microsoft’s Applied Sciences Group and centers on a lightweight edge operating system called Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP), built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) rather than Windows (tomshardware.com).
MDEP works in tandem with Azure‑hosted agent services and persistent cloud‑based state, enabling devices to act as interfaces to AI agents running in the cloud. Microsoft describes this as a chip‑to‑cloud architecture, offering centralized security, management, and orchestration while keeping the device footprint minimal (tomshardware.com).
To support hardware deployment, Microsoft has partnered with Qualcomm (for portable and wearable form factors) and MediaTek (for stationary devices). Rather than manufacturing products itself, Microsoft will provide reference designs and enforce an “approved chipsets” certification model akin to Google’s GMS for Android (tomshardware.com).
Two concept reference devices were showcased: a stationary desk‑mounted AI hub (MediaTek‑based) featuring display, camera, UWB presence sensor, dual far‑field microphones, and USB‑C ports; and a wearable AI badge (Qualcomm‑based) with touchscreen, fingerprint sensor, far‑field mic array, side‑facing camera, and multi‑connectivity (5G, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, GNSS). These are intended as OEM templates, not consumer products (tomshardware.com).
A key innovation is just‑in‑time UI, an adaptive interface layer that allows a single AI agent to render appropriately across different screen sizes and input modalities—striking a balance between responsive design and fully generative UI, reducing per‑device development overhead (tomshardware.com).
Microsoft’s choice of Android over Windows for MDEP reflects the need for a lightweight, scalable OS suitable for constrained hardware, avoiding legacy compatibility burdens. The platform also includes future components like an agent dispatcher and agent task manager to surface context‑relevant agents automatically. Early integrations include Dragon Copilot for healthcare and GitHub Copilot for developer workflows (tomshardware.com).
Targeted at enterprise verticals such as retail, healthcare, and field services, Microsoft has already lined up pilot programs with Best Buy, CVS Health, Levi’s, Target, and AccuWeather, with broader OEM deployment planned across healthcare, hospitality, financial services, legal, and industrial sectors (tomshardware.com).