Microsoft has announced the dates for its annual Build developer conference. The tech giant has not only pushed the dates of the conference back from its usual May timeline to June but also shifted the venue out of the Seattle area.
The event will now be held on 2 & 3 June in San Francisco at the Fort Mason Center.Microsoft had announced its decision to take the conference out of Seattle last year due to issues with homelessness and cleanliness.
GitHub COO Kyle Daigle, while speaking to The Verge on the shift from Seattle to San Francisco, said, “Build has been in many different locations over the years, but it clearly has an identity with the Seattle area, but like with everything in software, it’s a little bit of ship to learn.”
“Let’s ship it to San Francisco and see what we learn this year with that audience that can come and join us, and see about the years following,” he added.
The report noted that Microsoft is inviting around 2,500 developers to register for Build this year which is less than the approximately 3,000 to 5,000 developers that have attended the event previously.
What to expect from Build 2026?
While Microsoft has often unveiled Windows and Microsoft Azure-related announcements at previous Build editions, the company is reportedly focusing on building it into a more developer-focused event this year.
“We just need to show you what we’ve been doing, what you’ve been building on top of it, and how you can use it,” Daigle told The Verge.
The change is also visible in the official description for the event on the Microsoft Build website, “At Microsoft Build, you’ll go deep on real code, real systems, and real workflows with the teams building and scaling AI. Two days. Hands-on sessions. No fluff.”
Microsoft, on the website for the event, has confirmed that the keynote address and some of the sessions will be live-streamed. Developers can request to attend the event by navigating to the Microsoft Build registration page. The cost for in-person attendance at Microsoft Build is $1,099.
The tech giant has also confirmed that its CEO Satya Nadella will be delivering the keynote and showcase some of the latest developments. Nadella also shared a post on X regarding the Build 2026 event, writing, “Counting down to a new Build in San Francisco. Hope you’ll join us!”
Among the other confirmed speakers are Datasette founder Simon Willison, Thiink Interim SVP of Product Priyanka Sharma, AI engineer Shawn Wang, Stealth founder Chip Huyen and more.
