Microsoft Acquires SwiftKey for $250 Million

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Posted February 3, 2016 at 4:26am by iClarified

Microsoft has acquired London-based SwiftKey, a popular predictive keyboard for smartphones that is powered by artificial intelligence, reports the Financial Times

Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, who founded the company in 2008 when both were in their 20s, will each make upwards of $30m from the buyout, which is set to be announced this week. The pair together own a substantial minority stake in the company after raising a relatively small amount of venture capital, just over $20m, from backers including Accel Partners, Index Ventures and Octopus Investments.

Microsoft Acquires SwiftKey for $250 Million

While the deal is one of the biggest in recent memory for a U.K. tech company, it's less than investors might have hoped for a few years back when SwiftKey was at its height of popularity. The company struggled to find a good business model. Initially the keyboard sold for $4 but then was switched to free with in-app purchases. SwiftKey also earned revenue when it was pre-installed by on Android and BlackBerry devices.

Hit the link below for more details or click here to download SwiftKey for your iPhone.

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dkdk - February 3, 2016 at 12:29pm

People use the term "artificial intelligence" waaaaaay too loosely.

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Bill - February 4, 2016 at 5:05am

Agreed but they just sold the company for 300 million to have to lie about something

Gabe - February 3, 2016 at 11:23am

The only problem with these third party keyboards, that bugs me to no end, is that, when activated it gets rid of the damn mic button for talk to text. So every time I want to use it, I have to switch back to the stock keyboard to get the button back. Then, switch back to the other keyboard again. It's extremely annoying. And I know I can't be the only one who is enamored by this.