Artificial Intelligence Startups Continue to Get Snapped Up as Microsoft Acquires Genee

Microsoft has acquired Genee for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2014, Genee is an artificial-intelligence-powered scheduling service.

“Genee uses natural language processing and optimized decision-making algorithms so that interacting with a virtual assistant is just like interacting with a human one,” says Rajesh Jha, Corporate Vice President, Outlook and Office 365.

Founded by Ben Cheung and Charles Lee, Genee will be shut down and its technology will be absorbed by Microsoft.

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“In our drive to deliver large productivity gains through intelligent scheduling coordination and optimization, we often found ourselves on the forefront of technology involving natural language processing, artificial intelligence (AI), and chat bots,” says Cheung.

The Genee service will shut down on September 1.

“The Genee team will take the valuable experiences and lessons that you taught us to Microsoft, where we’ll continue to build amazing next generation intelligent experiences,” said Lee.

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