Day three of protests rock Microsoft’s annual developer event, with ex-employees Vaniya Agrawal and Hossam Nasr confronting leadership over AI’s role in the Gaza conflict.
BY PC Bureau
May 22 — Indian-American software engineer Vaniya Agrawal, who made headlines in April for disrupting Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event over its ties with Israel, has once again protested at a major company event — this time at the Build 2025 developer conference in Seattle.
Agrawal, joined by former Microsoft employee Hossam Nasr, interrupted a session on AI security led by Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s Head of Responsible AI, and Haiby, a company AI executive. The pair voiced strong opposition to Microsoft’s cloud services agreements with the Israeli government.
This marks the third consecutive day of protest disruptions at the conference:
On May 19, a current Microsoft employee interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote, denouncing the company’s alleged role in Israel’s war efforts.
On May 20, a Palestinian tech professional disrupted a session led by Jay Parikh, EVP of Microsoft CoreAI, demanding an end to the company’s Israel ties.
Vaniya Agrawal, an ex-Microsoft engineer, says she was fired for protesting against what she says is the company’s ties to Israel. Agrawal shares her story on why she chose to stand up for Palestinians in Gaza ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/E3khuIzfxv
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 21, 2025
A Pattern of Protest
Agrawal, who resigned from Microsoft in April, previously accused the company — including its leadership figures Satya Nadella, Bill Gates, and Steve Ballmer — of complicity in civilian deaths in Gaza. During her April protest at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, she confronted the three men onstage and announced her resignation in a letter dated April 11, citing ethical concerns.
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In internal communications, Agrawal condemned Microsoft’s reported $133 million cloud deal with Israel’s Ministry of Defence, alleging its Azure and AI services were contributing to “lethal military operations” in Gaza.
“Microsoft cloud and AI enable the Israeli military to be more lethal and destructive in Gaza,” she wrote in a company-wide email.
A former Amazon employee, Agrawal joined Microsoft’s AI division in September 2023. She was one of two people dismissed by Microsoft following the April protest.
Despite her departure, Agrawal continues to be a prominent voice in tech industry protests against what she describes as corporate complicity in human rights violations.
