In an apparent bid to jump into the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence, Microsoft is buying British start-up Swiftkey for $250 million, The Washington Post reports. Swiftkey is best known for its smart keyboard app that accurately predicts the next words a user wants in a given sentence. The software uses machine learning to get to know the user so that it can offer personalized keyboard offerings. According to the report, “under Microsoft, Swiftkey’s technology stands to spread into practically every product the Redmond, Washington, company owns.” A Microsoft release stated, “Swiftkey’s predictive technology aligns with Microsoft’s investments and ambition to develop intelligent systems that can work more on the user’s behalf and under their control.”
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