Build 2024: How Microsoft Upset Intel, Qualcomm, and PC Makers

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In a candid discussion, tech veterans Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell dissected the aftermath of Build 2024, revealing a series of missteps that strained Microsoft's relationships with key partners.

According to Thurrott, the event was heavily skewed towards Microsoft's Surface lineup, with the company's partners taking a backseat. "It was very Surface-heavy," he said, recounting how the event's showcase area was dominated by Surface computers, leaving little room for other manufacturers' devices.

Thurrott shared a firsthand account of a conversation with a representative from a major PC maker, who expressed shock at the disparity between what they were promised and the reality on the ground. "This person said, 'You have no idea how bad it was,'" Thurrott recalled, describing how partners were relegated to a tiny area, each allotted only a couple of devices to display.

Perhaps the most egregious slight came at the expense of Intel, one of Microsoft's long-standing partners. According to Thurrott's sources, Intel representatives were initially issued badges and prepared to present at the event. However, on the day of the event, Microsoft abruptly revoked their badges and asked them to leave the premises.

While Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors were at the heart of Microsoft's new "Copilot+ PC" initiative, the chipmaker was far from satisfied with their presence at the event. Thurrott stated that Qualcomm executives were conspicuously absent from the stage, and the company's name wasn't mentioned until ~40 minutes into the 60-minute keynote. "Everything they talked about right now requires their hardware, required this significant investment on their part, and they were like nothing, wow, nothing," Thurrott said, capturing Qualcomm's frustration.

Even NVIDIA, a company renowned for its high-performance graphics cards, felt left out. Despite their GPUs vastly exceeding the requirements for Microsoft's new AI-powered PCs, NVIDIA's hardware was overlooked in favor of less powerful mobile processors. The hosts discussed how NVIDIA customers were perplexed by this decision, wondering why their expensive gaming rigs couldn't take advantage of the new AI features.

As Build 2024 went on, it became clear that Microsoft had inadvertently angered multiple partners, undermining the very ecosystem they were trying to promote. While Microsoft's intentions were to showcase their vision for AI-powered computing, the execution fell short, leaving partners feeling disappointed and overlooked. Perhaps at their next event, the tech giant will give a bit more exposure to their fellow PC makers in the industry.  

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