Meta makes an AI model available for commercial usage, upending a budding business.

Microsoft will make available the updated model, known as Llama 2, through its Azure cloud service, which is compatible with Windows.

The open-source artificial intelligence model Llama from Meta will soon be available in a commercial form, the firm said on Tuesday. This will provide start-ups and other companies with a strong free alternative to the pricy proprietary models offered by OpenAI and Google.

Microsoft is "our preferred partner" for the rollout of the new model, dubbed Llama 2, which will be delivered through Azure and operate on the Windows operating system, according to Meta in a blog post.

The model, which Meta previously provided only to select academics for research purposes, also will be made available via direct download and through Amazon Web Services, Hugging Face and other providers, according to the blog post and a separate facebook post by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.