Microsoft is pulling GitHub fully into its cloud empire with a massive 12-month migration to Azure servers. The move, described internally as 'existential' for GitHub's future, marks the clearest signal yet that the developer platform's independence is over. With GitHub struggling to meet AI demand on its own infrastructure, the $7.5 billion acquisition is finally bearing its intended fruit.
GitHub just crossed the Rubicon. Seven years after Microsoft bought the developer platform for $7.5 billion, GitHub is finally surrendering its technical independence with a complete migration to Azure servers over the next 12 months.
The timing isn't coincidental. Just two months after former CEO Thomas Dohmke stepped down, GitHub CTO Vladimir Fedorov dropped the bombshell in an internal memo this week. "We are constrained on data server capacity with limited opportunities to bring more capacity online in the North Virginia region," Fedorov told GitHub employees, according to sources familiar with the plans.
"We have to do this," Fedorov wrote. "It's existential for GitHub to have the ability to scale to meet the demands of AI and Copilot, and Azure is our path forward."
The developer community that nervously watched Microsoft's 2018 acquisition is now witnessing their worst fears materialize. GitHub, which has operated on its own Virginia-based hardware since its founding, is being absorbed into Microsoft's cloud infrastructure. The migration represents the largest technical integration since the acquisition, effectively ending GitHub's ability to operate independently.
But this isn't just about servers. GitHub is simultaneously being folded deeper into Microsoft's CoreAI division, a process that accelerated after Dohmke's departure left the platform without a single leader. Instead, GitHub now reports directly to Microsoft's AI leadership team, aligning with the company's broader strategy to make AI the centerpiece of developer tools.
The urgency is palpable. GitHub is asking teams to "delay feature work to focus on moving GitHub," according to Fedorov's memo. The company has set an aggressive 12-month timeline for the core migration, with a full exit from its own data centers planned within two years. Microsoft's senior leadership is "mobilizing" Azure resources to support the move, signaling this comes from the very top.
This isn't GitHub's first rodeo with Azure migrations. Previous attempts at moving specific services like Git in Azure and Azure Sites Automation have "dragged on" and failed, Fedorov acknowledged. "I know this is not the first time we said GitHub is moving to Azure," he wrote, but emphasized this time is different given the capacity crisis.
