Claude Models Are Now Generally Available in Microsoft Foundry on Azure

Anthropic’s Claude models are now generally available in Microsoft Foundry on Azure, expanding the company’s partnership with Microsoft and NVIDIA.

The rollout gives enterprises access to Claude models through Microsoft’s AI development platform, with the Azure-hosted option now available for production use.

Microsoft says the models run on NVIDIA GB300 Blackwell Ultra systems, a setup designed for companies building autonomous and domain-specific AI agents.

Microsoft Offers Two Claude Deployment Options

Claude models in Microsoft Foundry are available through two deployment models.

The first option, “Hosted on Azure,” runs fully on Azure infrastructure and is now generally available. The second option, “Hosted on Anthropic infrastructure,” remains in preview.

The Azure-hosted option matters for organizations that need tighter control over procurement, compliance, governance, and data-processing requirements. For many enterprises, keeping AI workloads inside Azure can simplify internal approval processes and cloud spending management.

Claude Expands Microsoft Foundry’s AI Model Lineup

Microsoft Foundry currently lists 11 Claude models. The lineup includes newer models such as Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 4.6, alongside unavailable Mythos and Fable models.

The broader Claude availability gives developers and enterprise teams more choice when building AI apps and agentic systems in Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem.

Instead of relying only on Microsoft’s own AI models, customers can now use Anthropic’s Claude models through the same Azure-based platform they already use for development, deployment, billing, and governance.

Claude Billing Runs Through Azure Marketplace

Microsoft is billing Claude usage in Foundry through Claude Consumption Units, also called CCUs.

According to Microsoft, CCUs convert token usage based on Anthropic’s published per-model token rates. The usage then appears through Azure Marketplace and shows up on the customer’s Azure invoice.

Eligible Claude usage can also count toward a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment, which could make the models more attractive for large enterprises already committed to Azure spending agreements.

Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Anthropic Deepen Their AI Partnership

The general availability of Claude on Azure is part of a broader partnership between Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Anthropic.

Anthropic has committed to buying $30 billion in Azure compute capacity. The company is also contracting additional Azure capacity of up to one gigawatt.

NVIDIA and Microsoft also said they would invest up to $10 billion and $5 billion in Anthropic, respectively.

The partnership gives Anthropic access to large-scale cloud and GPU infrastructure, while Microsoft strengthens Azure’s position as a platform for multiple frontier AI model providers.

For enterprise customers, the main change is practical: Claude models are now easier to buy, deploy, and manage inside Microsoft’s cloud.