Former Microsoft staff, including Vaniya Agrawal, protest at Build 2025

Former Microsoft employees, including Vaniya Agrawal, disrupted Microsoft Build 2025, protesting Microsoft's cloud contracts with Israeli government. These disruptions mark the third consecutive day of pro-Palestine demonstrations at the conference.

Image Credit: Twitter screengrab

Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-American engineer, caused chaos at another high-profile Microsoft event this year after interrupting the company's 50th anniversary festivities in April. In the most recent instance, she interrupted Build 2025, Microsoft's ongoing developer gathering. 

The company's yearly developers' conference is called Microsoft Build. Hossam Nasr, another terminated Microsoft employee, and Vaniya Agrawal yelled at Neta Haiby, Microsoft's chief of security for AI.These two former Microsoft workers interrupted a Build session on best security practices for AI that Haiby and Sarah Bird, Microsoft's head of responsible AI, were co-hosting to voice their disapproval of the company's cloud contracts with the Israeli government. 

Pro-Palestine demonstrations have interrupted the Microsoft Build 2025 conference for the third day in a row. On Monday (May 19), immediately after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella began his keynote talk at the Build 2025 conference, an employee interrupted the event. He began yelling "Free Palestine" and demanding accountability from the CEO for the company's collaboration with the Israeli government.

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Who is Vaniya Agrawal and why was she fired?

Vaniya Agrawal, a software developer in the company's artificial intelligence branch, has publicly posted her resignation email. She wrote the email to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and thousands of workers after protesting at the company's 50th anniversary party on April 4. In the company-wide email, she stated that she had been with the firm for more than one and a half years.

She caused trouble at Microsoft's 50th anniversary party earlier this year. Vaniya Agrawal got up and began yelling while Microsoft's current CEO, Satya Nadella, and past CEOs, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates, sat on stage discussing the firm.

“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” she said. “50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating in their blood. Cut ties with Israel.” Vaniya was escorted out by the security.

Vaniya Agrawal was sacked soon after the incident. She was asked to leave immediately, without having completed her two-week notice period. The other protester, Ibtihal Aboussad, was also fired for "acts of misconduct" after similar interruptions at the Microsoft Anniversary celebration.