Microsoft announces 'MAI-Image-2-Efficient,' an AI for image generation, which is cheaper and faster than models from Google and OpenAI.
Microsoft announced its image generation AI, ' MAI-Image-2-Efficient, ' on April 14, 2026. MAI-Image-2-Efficient is touted as being cheaper and faster than competing models.
MAI-Image-2-Efficient: Flagship Quality, 41% Lower Cost | Microsoft AI
Introducing MAI-Image-2-Efficient: Faster, More Efficient Image Generation | Microsoft Community Hub
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azure-ai-foundry-blog/introducing-mai-image-2-efficient-faster-more-efficient-image-generation/4510918
MAI-Image-2-Efficient is an image generation AI built on the same architecture as MAI-Image-2 , which was released on March 19, 2026. When generating 1024x1024 pixel images using NVIDIA H100, MAI-Image-2-Efficient can generate images up to 22% faster than MAI-Image-2.
An example of MAI-Image-2-Efficient output is shown below. According to Microsoft, MAI-Image-2-Efficient tends to produce sharp, clear lines and is suitable for creating illustrations, animations, and eye-catching, realistic images. On the other hand, MAI-Image-2 is characterized by its smooth and detailed rendering, and it is recommended to use MAI-Image-2-Efficient and MAI-Image-2 depending on the application.
The following graph compares the time required to generate a 1-megapixel image using 'MAI-Image-2-Efficient,' 'MAI-Image-2,' 'Gemini 3 Pro Image (Nano Banana Pro),' 'Gemini 3.1 Flash Image (Nano Banana 2),' 'Gemini 3.1 Flash Image with inference,' and 'GPT-Image-1.5-High.' MAI-Image-2-Efficient enables faster generation processing compared to the other models.
MAI-Image-2-Efficient is available on Microsoft Foundry and MAI Playground. API usage on Microsoft Foundry costs $5 (approximately 795 yen) per 1 million tokens for text input and $19.50 (approximately 3100 yen) per 1 million tokens for image output.
Additionally, a model card detailing the specifications of MAI-Image-2-Efficient is available at the following link.
MAI-Image-2e (Efficient) Model Card
(PDF file) https://microsoft.ai/pdf/MAI-Image-2e-Model-Card.pdf
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