Microsoft Acquires SwiftKey to develop AI desires

Microsoft on Wednesday introduced an settlement to gather SwiftKey, whose software keyboard and SDK are used on extra than 300 million Android and iOS devices.

SwiftKey's generation aligns with Microsoft's vision for greater personal computing reviews that "count on our wishes versus responding to our commands, and immediately helps our ambition to reinvent productivity by using leveraging the smart cloud," said Harry Shum, Microsoft's government vp of generation and research.

customers have saved an anticipated 10 trillion keystrokes across a hundred languages since the app became released in 2010, SwiftKey stated.

Microsoft will continue to expand SwiftKey's keyboard apps for iOS and Android and "explore eventualities for the integration of the core generation across the breadth of our product and offerings portfolio," Shum said.

SwiftKey's predictive technology aligns with Microsoft's hobby in growing intelligent structures that can paintings more on customers' behalf and beneath their control, he introduced.

That probably manner artificial intelligence structures.

Microsoft is shelling out $250 million, in keeping with the economic times.

it'll fold SwiftKey's personnel into its solid, and that they apparently will document to Shum.

AI Efforts at Microsoft

"AI will to begin with be applied as a way to boom productivity via more effective predictive behavior," stated Rob Enderle, essential analyst on the Enderle group.

"you could see this improving Outlook, word and probably even some of Microsoft's developer-focused products as well," he instructed the E-trade times.

several companies at Microsoft research paintings on machine gaining knowledge of and AI. They encompass the synthetic Intelligence institution, the Deep gaining knowledge of era middle, the system mastering and Intelligence institution and the gadget coaching institution.

projects consist of DeepCU, twin Embedding area version, Video and Language, and SemanticPaint.

The corporation additionally has a hard and fast of AI gear in assignment Oxford, which it updated with new APIs in November, which include an Emotion API, which makes use of device getting to know to apprehend 8 emotional states, along with anger, worry, happiness and wonder.

final month, Microsoft open sourced its Computational community Toolkit on GitHub.

One approach to Rule them all 

SwiftKey's apps, which encompass a generation that makes it easier for theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking to put in writing and talk, ought to suit right into Microsoft's AI work.

The apps in all likelihood will stay to be had on iOS and Android without cost, although the features and licensing terms would possibly change over the years, counseled Wes Miller, a senior analyst at directions on Microsoft.

"The technology will probable be melded into Microsoft's own phrase waft supplying over time and ... will virtually seem in a few form throughout Microsoft's own systems," he advised the E-commerce times.

It additionally aligns nicely with Cortana "in phrases of offering offerings to customers and mastering approximately the ones customers over time to both offer higher services and increase engagement," Miller delivered.

eventually, SwiftKey's technology is probably for use to growth the software of Microsoft's surface products and destiny versions of home windows on all hardware, Enderle counseled. 

troubles inside the future

What the SwiftKey products grow to be over the years, and how they may be made to be had, remains an open query, guidelines on Microsoft's Miller stated. "This is not really a disadvantage yet, but is an unknown."

There may also be a backlash from Android and iOS device customers against the SwiftKey acquisition.

"the principle downside is probable for customers who ... try and stay out of doors of Microsoft's sphere and are already SwiftKey customers, as that may not be feasible within the long time," he observed.

Microsoft "would not have the pleasant report in regards to retaining obtained cost," speculated Enderle, "and by means of SwiftKey's being a part of Microsoft, iOS and Android users may additionally flow towards it."