How Microsoft’s Faster CPython Team Is Boosting Python Performance

Microsoft published a blog titled “A Team at Microsoft is Helping Make Python Faster,” introducing the Faster CPython team.

The article notes that Python’s popularity has risen, topping TIOBE and IEEE rankings, but its versatility often draws criticism for performance, leading many performance‑sensitive applications to be written in languages like C.

In 2020, core developer Mark Shannon drafted a plan to speed up CPython by roughly five times, divided into four stages, each targeting about a 50% performance increase per stage. Guido van Rossum remarked that such an effort is too heavy for a single volunteer and suggested Microsoft could hire Mark and a small team.

Consequently, Microsoft assembled a six‑engineer team, including Guido, to work on the project. Guido returned from retirement in November 2020 to join Microsoft’s Developer Division, emphasizing the value of diverse backgrounds and skills for better decision‑making.

The team has helped core developers follow the plan, and Python 3.11 already shows 10‑60% speed improvements in certain areas.

Team members meet weekly, fostering consistent communication and collective effort, which they believe gives them an advantage in understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

With a shared vision, the team continues to integrate performance features into Python 3.11 and is researching future enhancements, extending the original four‑stage plan over the coming years while maintaining transparency.

The team’s work aligns with Microsoft’s long‑term commitment to the Python community, aiming to “add value” and benefit both the language and its users.

Reddit users have commented that Microsoft achieved something Google could not.

Relevant links:

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/python/python-311-faster-cpython-team/

https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/yejstz/a_team_at_microsoft_is_helping_make_python_faster/