Claude in Microsoft Foundry Is Now Generally Available on Azure

TL;DR: Claude Opus 4.8 and Haiku 4.5 are now GA in Microsoft Foundry on Azure — same Messages API, Azure Entra ID auth, US data zone option, and Foundry Agent Service for multi-step orchestration.

Claude is now generally available in Microsoft Foundry (announced June 29), giving Azure-first teams a production path to Anthropic models through infrastructure they already manage.

Available now:

• Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Haiku 4.5 via the Messages API — same JSON schema as the Anthropic API, with prompt caching, extended thinking, and tool streaming
• Foundry Agent Service to orchestrate multi-step Claude workflows alongside other Azure tools and knowledge sources
• Running on NVIDIA GB300 Blackwell Ultra GPU infrastructure (NVL72 systems, Quantum-X800 InfiniBand)

Enterprise controls baked in:

• Auth via Microsoft Entra ID — existing Azure identity, no new credential to manage or rotate
• Azure RBAC for model access
• Global or US data zone for data residency requirements
• Zero data retention option: prompts and completions not retained after the API call

Why it matters: For engineering teams with existing Azure security postures and compliance reviews, Claude now slots into the same governance layer as everything else — Azure Key Vault, Entra ID, Azure Monitor, Azure DevOps pipelines. No second vendor review, no separate billing relationship. If your organization has already approved Azure, using Claude through Foundry carries over that approval.

Sources: Microsoft Azure Blog | Anthropic announcement | Foundry docs: Claude models