Teaching small language models to think like optimization experts with OptiMind

OptiMind is a specialized language model that translates natural-language problem descriptions directly into solver-ready mathematical optimization formulations. This removes one of the most expertise-intensive bottlenecks in optimization workflows and makes advanced optimization more accessible. Technical report: https://aka.ms/OptiMindReport Microsoft Blog: https://aka.ms/OptiMindBlog Microsoft Foundry Catalog: https://aka.ms/OptiMindCatalog Hugging Face: https://aka.ms/OptiMindHF GitHub: https://aka.ms/OptiGuideGithub This session aired on March 3, 2026, at Microsoft Research Forum, Season 2 Episode 3. Register for the series to learn about future episodes: https://events.microsoft.com/flow/ms/researchforum/register/page/microsoftresearchforumreg/?OCID=msr_researchforum_YTDescription Explore all previous episodes: https://aka.ms/researchforumYTplaylist