Oh! Duh! How could I have forgotten Azure! Yes, that's definitely where all this is headed. They could be trying to position TypeScript as a secret weapon that gives Azure an edge over AWS. Especially if they're planning on using the type information, once it's universally near-100%, to build a blazingly fast platform using a new compiler and runtime that make use of TypeScript's unique features suited toward compiler optimizations. Especially considering Hejlsberg is behind TypeScript (see my other comment in this thread).