Share this article
Latest news
With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low
Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app
Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount
Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier
Microsoft Ventures gets busy, invests in CrowdFlower
2 min. read
Published onJune 7, 2016
published onJune 7, 2016
Share this article
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more
Microsoft seems to have no problem with finding places to spend its cash through the recently-established investment arm – Microsoft Ventures – as of late. Just fresh off aninvestment round in India-based mobile chat service HelpShift,word from VentureBeatis coming that another startup is on the receiving end of Microsoft’s bets for the future, CrowdFlower.
CrowdFlower,founded in 2009 in San Francisco, is a “crowdsourced data cleaning and tagging platform.” The service is a combination of machine learning and human intelligence that can work on tasks hard or impossible to achieve with just algorithms, from sentiment analysis to content moderation and even doing transcriptions of content. CrowdFlower has generated a lot of happy customers using its service, but this current tech is not what Microsoft Ventures, along with two other venture capital firms, is investing in–they are, after all, investing in the future.
“At Microsoft, we’re looking to create experiences for people and businesses where technology intelligently supports what they’re doing,” “CrowdFlower’s approach — combining human and machine intelligence to solve all types of unstructured data problems — aligns with that effort. We look forward to supporting them in their next phase of growth in the broader machine learning and A.I. market.”
– Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president, Microsoft Ventures.
The future here, it turns out, is artificial intelligence, or more specifically, CrowdFlower A.I., a new product from the namesake maker, whose development will be fueled by the new cash. With this investment, Microsoft is staying consistent with its interest in machine-learning and AI, evident in the company’s recent forays into chatbots, or AI projects using Minecraft.
Furthermore, according to CEO and founder Lukas Biewald, CrowdFlower A.I. is not going after futuristic projects like self-driving cars, but instead will be focusing on bringing “A.I. and machine learning between the reach of every business, to attack million dollars problem.” The words could almost have come straight from a Microsoft’s spokesperson’s mouth; in other words, it’s a perfect alignment with Redmond’s focus and its “empowering every person on the planet” mantra. We can expect CrowdFlower to become an important investment for Microsoft in the AI space in the future.
Radu Tyrsina
Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).
For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.
Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.
User forum
0 messages
Sort by:LatestOldestMost Votes
Comment*
Name*
Email*
Commenting as.Not you?
Save information for future comments
Comment
Δ
Radu Tyrsina
