At Microsoft Build, SQL Server 2025 enters public preview with major enhancements in AI integration, performance, reliability and developer tools -- reaffirming Microsoft’s continued investment in its flagship on-premises database platform.

This is another example of Microsoft's "agentic" approach to AI, as Discovery is intended to let researchers create virtual teams of AI agents that can be instructed with specific data and guidelines to function as, for example, a "molecular properties simulation specialist" that can then assist with R&D and learn over time.

A public preview of SQL Server 2025 adds new vector capabilities already found in rival databases, along with JSON support and change event streaming.

During its Build 2025 keynote, Microsoft announced a sweeping set of improvements to the Windows developer experience.

So that’s the future of Windows Microsoft is selling right now: deep integration for AI agents to use apps on your PC, if you want, and more ways for app developers to create AI features that use your PC’s hardware rather than cloud servers. Now all that’s left is to see how it all shapes up in reality.