A Microsoft distinguished engineer has walked back claims that the company plans to eliminate all C and C++ code by 2030, clarifying that his team’s ambitious project is purely research-focused and not a concrete plan for Windows.Galen Hunt, who sparked widespread speculation with his original LinkedIn post about rewriting Microsoft’s codebases using AI and Rust, issued an update stating his message “generated far more attention than I intended.” He emphasized that Windows is not being rewritten in Rust with AI, contrary to how many interpreted his initial announcement.
Research project, not Windows roadmap: Clarifies Microsoft engineer
Hunt’s team is developing technology to enable large-scale code migration between programming languages, with a stated goal of “1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code.” The project combines AI agents with algorithmic infrastructure to process and modify code at massive scale. However, Hunt stressed this remains an experimental endeavor within Microsoft’s Future of Scalable Software Engineering group, not an official strategy for Windows 11 or future versions.The clarification comes after tech media outlets reported Hunt’s original post as a definitive plan to replace Microsoft’s entire C and C++ codebase with Rust by decade’s end. His team is currently hiring a Principal Software Engineer with at least three years of Rust experience to continue developing these translation capabilities.
Microsoft’s ongoing Rust adoption continues
While Hunt’s specific project is research-based, Microsoft has been steadily incorporating Rust into its products for several years. The company began rewriting portions of the Windows kernel in Rust in 2023, and Azure CTO Mark Russinovich previously stated Microsoft was “all-in” on the memory-safe language for new projects.Rust offers built-in protections against common programming errors that cause security vulnerabilities, particularly memory-related bugs that have plagued C and C++ codebases. Hunt’s research aims to accelerate such migrations through AI-assisted translation, though he clarified that Rust is not necessarily the final destination for all Microsoft code.The project represents Microsoft’s broader investment in AI-powered development tools, though the timeline and scope remain far less certain than initially suggested.
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