Microsoft wants to make Cortana smarter.
Microsoft went shopping for AI startups and stopped its search at Semantics Machines, a Newton, Mass.-based startup that builds artificially intelligent software for home automation devices and customer service for brands. The company also has an office in Berkeley, California.
Its conversational AI software uses machine learning to improve human-computer interaction that will enable computers to comprehend and accomplish tasks efficiently. So what makes Semantics Machines special? The people. The company boasts of a team that has unique experience with building the core AI technology for Siri and Google Now. The company is led by a strong team of experts from the industry and academia — including entrepreneur Dan Roth and two of the most prominent and innovative natural language AI researchers in the world, UC Berkeley professor Dan Klein and Stanford University professor Percy Liang (who developed the Google Assistant core AI), as well as former Apple chief speech scientist Larry Gillick.
For Microsoft, acquiring Semantics is in line with its focus on building better speech recognition software. Microsoft has some success with digital assistant Cortana, as well as with social chatbots like XiaoIce that got a revamp in 2015. Although details of the deal were not disclosed, with this acquisition, Microsoft plans to set up a conversational AI center of excellence in Berkeley, California to develop language interfaces.
Semantics’ investors include Bain Capital Ventures and General Catalyst who participated in a $12.3 million funding round in 2015.
