Microsoft expands Azure OpenAI Service with DALL-E 2 in preview

When Azure OpenAI Service launched in 2021, the service -- a part of Azure Cognitive Services -- provided enterprise-tailored access to OpenAI's API through the Azure platform for applications like language translation and text autocompletion. But after expanding the service in May with fine-tuning features, Microsoft is today introducing invite-only access to DALL-E 2 for select Azure OpenAI Service customers. Customers can use DALL-E 2 to generate custom images using either text or images. In line with the consumer DALL-E 2 service, they can leverage inpainting and outpainting -- capabilities that generate new content within a portion of an image or push an image beyond its original confines, respectively -- in addition to a feature that generates variations on an existing image. Early adopters include brands like Mattel, which used DALL-E 2 to come up with ideas for a new Hot Wheels model car.