The parade of acquisitions related to AI (artificial intelligence) keeps coming, with the latest being Microsoft's purchase of SwiftKey, maker of a highly popular software keyboard replacement for Android and iOS devices. Here's the announcement from SwiftKey founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock:
Eight years ago we started out as two friends with a shared belief that there had to be a better way of typing on smartphones. We’ve come a long way since then; today hundreds of millions of people around the world, and many of the leading mobile manufacturers, rely on our language prediction technology. Our users have saved an estimated 10 trillion keystrokes across 100 different languages, which adds up to over 100,000 years of reclaimed typing time.
Our number one focus has always been to build the best possible products for our users. This will not change. Our apps will continue to be available on Android and iOS, for free. We are as committed as ever to improving them in new and innovative ways.
Analysis: A Swift Move from Microsoft
As VentureBeat notes, SwiftKey may be known for its consumer-facing apps, but the company also has introduced an SDK that hardware manufacturers and enterprise-oriented companies can use to plug SwiftKey's language engine into their own products.
Moreover, the hunt for AI talent is mounting fiercely among technology companies. SwiftKey brings a research resume that boasts years of work with physicist Stephen Hawking on technology that reportedly helped Hawking type twice as quickly as before. It's notable that SwiftKey's staff will join Microsoft Research rather than being folded into another part of the company.
Given SwiftKey's popularity among Android users, it's somewhat surprising Google didn't buy the company instead of Microsoft, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Alan Lepofsky.
It's likely that Microsoft will look to integrate SwiftKey with other products, Lepofsky says. "Imagine it applied to Cortana," Microsoft's personal assistant app, he says. "Imagine it applied to writing in Word or OneNote. I look forward to seeing how Microsoft can apply SwiftKey's technology to personal productivity and team collaboration in ways such as helping users create email responses or even more detailed long form content."
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