Microsoft informed about acquiring AI startup Semantic Machines – developer of AI-based technologies. The deal, the amount of which is not disclosed, will allow the company to strengthen positions while developing chat-bots and voice assistants as well as make their sound more realistic, kommersant.ru reports.
It is expected that when communicating with voice assistants, the users will have a feeling of communicating with people, but not with the system. The startup projects will be used for developing the services, such as Azure Bot Service, Cortana and Xiaolce.
The startup Semantic Machines was founded in 2014 by the group of scientists – Dan Roth, Dan Klein, Percy Liang and Larry Gillick. The company is headquartered in Berkeley (California, USA). Over the life of startup, it managed to attract about $20.9 mln of investments, including from the funds General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures. The technologies Semantic Machines allow chat-bots and voice assistants to accurately reply to asked questions and predict what the user wants to ask.