Microsoft released MAI-Transcribe-2, a speech recognition model priced at 10 cents per hour—down from 36 cents five months ago—that includes features like speaker identification and multi-language support that competitors charge extra for. The release signals Microsoft's broader strategy to build its own AI models and reduce dependence on OpenAI after restructuring their partnership.

• The pricing drops transcription costs low enough that it stops being a budget line item for enterprises; a bank processing 100,000 hours annually pays $10,000 instead of $36,000.
• Microsoft bundled premium features into the base product: speaker diarization, word-level timestamps, keyword biasing, code-switching between languages, and output modes for compliance versus readability—capabilities competitors sell separately.
• Three model releases in five months with expanding language coverage (25 to 60 languages) and improving rankings suggest Microsoft has stabilized the architecture and is now scaling aggressively to make transcription a commodity before competitors respond.
• The push toward in-house models reflects Microsoft's renegotiated OpenAI partnership, which ended exclusive access and revenue-sharing, freeing Microsoft to pursue its own frontier AI and cut costs across products like Teams, Word, and Excel.

This article outlines seven common errors first-time startup founders make when chasing initial deals, from waiting for a “perfect” product to underpricing and hiring salespeople too soon. It explains how to start selling early, set confident prices, find budget holders, listen actively, diversify leads, iterate pitches, and stick with founder-led sales until you’ve proven the motion.

• Sell before the product or deck feels ready—pitch early and iterate from real feedback instead of polishing in secret.
• Price at a level that feels a bit scary rather than defaulting to cheap $1K–$2K/month deals, and ask hesitant prospects what they'd actually pay.
• Confirm you're talking to the real budget holder by directly asking whose approval or budget line covers the purchase, not just an enthusiastic user.
• Run multiple design-partner conversations in parallel, listen 80% of the time, and hold off hiring a salesperson until you've personally closed repeatable deals.