Azure Maia 300: what Microsoft silicon means for Foundry
Microsoft announced Azure Maia 300 on 12 October 2026 with 288 GB of HBM4, 18 TB/s and a claim of 40% more tokens per megawatt, but the chip that reaches Microsoft Foundry by year end is Maia 200, serving OpenAI and open-weight models in unnamed European regions with no price change. What the silicon transition does and does not change for EU data zone deployments, model choice and your evaluation baseline.
Foundry EU Data Zone premium doubles: the Swedish cost math
From 1 September 2026 Microsoft Foundry charges 20 percent over Global for EU Data Zone deployments, up from 10 percent, and 30 percent for Sweden Central regional, while Global pricing stays flat and West Europe regional hits 50 percent. Pay-as-you-go customers only pay the new rate on models launched from today, PTU customers pay immediately, and GPT-5.6 is not yet on regional Standard in Sweden, so here is the cost math and a six-step checklist.