How to Get Early Access to MAI-Thinking-1: Microsoft’s New Reasoning Model (2026 Guide)

Microsoft announced the MAI family of models at Build 2026, including MAI-Thinking-1 — their first major reasoning model (35B active parameters, Mixture-of-Experts). As of early June 2026, it is in private preview and only available through Microsoft AI Foundry.

Here’s exactly how to request access:

Step 1: Create a Free Azure Account

  1. Go to azure.microsoft.com/free
  2. Click “Try Azure for free”
  3. Sign in with your Microsoft account
  4. Fill in your details (Country, Phone number, etc.)
  5. Complete phone verification
  6. Add a credit/debit card for identity verification (you will not be charged if you stay within the free tier)
  7. Wait for the account to be created

You’ll receive $200 credit (valid for 30 days) and many free services for 12 months.

Step 2: Find Your Azure Subscription ID

  1. After your account is created, go to portal.azure.com
  2. In the top search bar, type “Subscriptions” and click it
  3. Click on your active subscription (usually named “Azure subscription 1” or “Free Trial”)
  4. Copy the Subscription ID (a long string in this format: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx)

Step 3: Submit the MAI-Thinking-1 Access Request

  1. Go to the official access form: → aka.ms/mai-thinking-1-access (or search for “MAI-Thinking-1 access”)
  2. Fill in the required fields:
    • Full Name
    • Company Name (you can put your personal brand or “Independent Developer”)
    • Job Title (e.g., Developer, AI Engineer, etc.)
    • Contact Email
    • Country
    • Subscription ID (paste from Step 2)
  3. Question 7 – Use Case (most important field): Write a clear description of what you want to build. Example:“I am a developer interested in testing MAI-Thinking-1 for building intelligent AI agents, advanced code generation, complex reasoning tasks, and autonomous workflows. I plan to use it together with MAI-Code-1-Flash inside Azure AI Foundry and GitHub Copilot to develop production-grade AI applications and provide feedback to Microsoft.”
  4. Submit the form.

Step 4: Wait for Approval

  • Microsoft usually reviews requests within 1 to 7 days.
  • Check your email (including spam) for approval notification.
  • Once approved, you can access MAI-Thinking-1 through ai.azure.com (Azure AI Foundry).

Tips:

  • Be honest and specific in your use case — Microsoft favors serious developers and builders.
  • You can start using MAI-Code-1-Flash sooner through GitHub Copilot while waiting.
  • After approval, you’ll be able to deploy the model via serverless endpoints or integrate it into agents.