Swiftkey is the most innovative and interesting predictive keyboard maker in the business, and Microsoft is a software giant that’s trying to push its artificial intelligence cred a little higher. According to a report in the Financial Times, it’s a match made in heaven, to the tune of $250 million.
Swiftkey is best known for its iOS and Android keyboards. Users (by which I mean me) also love the user interface, which can pull from your Gmail account to learn your writing style, and allows for the tweakiest of changes to the keyboard layout.
It’s a purchase that would make total sense for Microsoft—Swiftkey’s natural-language AI is a perfect fit with Cortana, and Microsoft also has this slightly bizarre habit of making free, useful utility apps for iOS and Android. The price is also in line with previous purchases of AI startups, although low for such a popular smartphone app.
Swiftkey declined to comment for this piece, meaning we’re left with an unconfirmed rumor for the time being. But maybe go download Swiftkey’s apps right the hell now, just to be on the safe side.
Update: Microsoft has confirmed the purchase, explaining that it will “continue to develop SwiftKey’s market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of [its] product and services portfolio.”