14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is very close to buying another company and application that’s already super popular on rival mobile platforms, after successfully completing the acquisition of Accompli (whose email client is now called Outlook), Sunrise, and Wunderlist.
This time, Microsoft is targeting SwiftKey, the company behind the application bearing the same name on Android and iOS and that is currently the top third-party keyboard on these two platforms.
A report by Financial Times reveals that Redmond is ready to spend $250 million (€229 million) to take over SwiftKey, which the company could later implement into its own Windows 10 Mobile operating system.
SwiftKey is currently the most advanced third-party keyboard application on Android and iOS and is particularly successful thanks to its word prediction system that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to determine the next word that you might want to type.
Also using complex algorithms and advanced dictionaries with support for a plethora of languages, SwiftKey is currently installed on more than 300 million devices running Android and iOS, according to statistics.
SwiftKey and Word Flow
These are actually two of the reasons Microsoft is so interested in taking over SwiftKey.
First of all, this is already a successful company in the Android and iOS world, just like Redmond’s previous acquisitions, and second of all, its application uses technologies that Microsoft is heavily investing on. Machine learning and AI have both been two very important projects for the Redmond-based software giant, so SwiftKey seems to perfectly fit the company’s long-term plans.
On the other hand, seeing Microsoft purchasing SwiftKey might be a little surprising at first since the company already has its very own keyboard that’s generally referred to as the fastest in the mobile world. Word Flow, currently available by default in Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile, has recently made its debut on iOS too, so Microsoft might be planning to merge the two and offer them as a stand-alone solution on all platforms.
More information should be provided later this week, when the two companies will also announce the acquisition.
Update: it's now official, as Microsoft has just confirmed that it purchased SwiftKey.