Microsoft has acquired an artificial intelligence startup, Semantic Machines, to bolster its efforts in "conversational AI" and potentially make its Cortana virtual assistant better at understanding natural language enquiries. Microsoft didn't disclose how much it paid for Semantic Machines, but said it would open a new AI research centre in Semantic Machines' hometown of Berkeley. Semantic Machines is made up of a number if AI veterans, and gives Microsoft access to some formidable talent. Larry Gillick is Semantic's chief technology officer and a former chief speech scientist for Apple's Siri. Several Semantic staffers also worked at Nuance, the voice recognition company once powered Siri.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) recently reported powerful fiscal first-quarter 2018 results. The graphics processing unit (GPU) specialist's revenue jumped 66%, GAAP earnings per share soared 151%, and adjusted EPS surged 141%. There was a wealth of information about the company's results and future prospects shared on the earnings call. Our focus here is on NVIDIA's data center, which is growing like gangbusters -- its revenue grew 71% year over year to $701 million in the quarter, accounting for 22% of the company's total revenue. We see the data center opportunity as very large, fueled by growing demand for accelerated computing and applications ranging from AI [artificial intelligence] to high-performance computing across multiple market segments and vertical industries.

Microsoft has acquired an artificial-intelligence startup, Semantic Machines, to bolster its efforts in "conversational AI" and potentially make its Cortana virtual assistant better at understanding natural language enquiries. Microsoft didn't disclose how much it paid for Semantic Machines but said it would open a new AI research center in Semantic Machines' hometown of Berkeley, California. Semantic Machines contains numerous AI veterans, and the acquisition gives Microsoft access to some formidable talent. Semantic's chief technology officer, Larry Gillick, is a former chief speech scientist for Apple's Siri. Microsoft also name checked the University of California at Berkeley professor Dan Klein and the Stanford University professor Percy Liang.

It's time to catch up on recent news from the Boston-area tech sector, including a pair of acquisitions; investments in digital health, artificial intelligence, and wastewater analytics; and scenes from this year's "Star Wars"-themed NEVY Awards. LogoMix CEO and founder Craig Bloem previously co-founded Performable, a Boston-area marketing automation startup sold to HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) in 2011. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but a spokesperson said Hiptest's 15 employees will be joining SmartBear. Private equity firm Francisco Partners acquired a majority stake in SmartBear last year; a source told Xconomy the deal had an enterprise value of $410 million. SmartBear is currently profitable and generating more than $100 million in annual revenue, the spokesperson said.

Microsoft has acquired Semantic Machines, a "conversational AI" startup in Berkley, Calif., to further its work in building machines that can converse naturally with humans. Semantic aims to advance the state of voice-based AI, like virtual assistants Alexa, Siri, Cortana and others, from understanding and responding to commands to being able to have compete conversations. The company is led by accomplished startup entrepreneurs, a former chief speech scientist for Apple's Siri and leading AI researchers and professors from Stanford and University of California Berkley. With the acquisition, Microsoft will set up a "center of excellence" focused on pushing "forward the boundaries of what is possible in language interfaces," David Ku, corporate vice president and chief technology officer of Microsoft AI & Research, wrote in a blog post announcing the acquisition. "Combining Semantic Machines' technology with Microsoft's own AI advances, we aim to deliver powerful, natural and more productive user experiences that will take conversational computing to a new level," Ku wrote.

For California-based Infinera, 2017 was not an easy year. The manufacturer of telecom equipment saw revenue drop from $870 million in 2016 to $740 million in 2017. Gross margin went down from 45 percent to 33 percent. In the end, the company, which employs about 2,000 people across the U.S., Canada, China, India, and Sweden, reported a net loss of $195 million for the year, compared to a net loss of $24 million in 2016. To turn things around, one of the things the company is focused on is technological improvements, CEO Thomas Fallon told investors earlier this year.

A similar share of companies who are already benefiting from machine learning also expect revenue growth of more than 6 percent for the two-year period of 2018-2019, the study showed. The study was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and written in discussion with SAP. "Making the Most of Machine Learning: 5 Lessons from Fast Learners" is based on survey results from 360 senior executives across four geographic regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The study identifies the opportunities, value and implications for companies that look at machine learning in a holistic way. The results also reveal leading companies -- called Fast Learners -- that are already seeing substantial benefits from machine learning.

Dialpad CEO Craig Walker, left, is joining forces with TalkIQ boss Dan O'Connell. Artificial intelligence is one of Silicon Valley's favorite buzzwords. Artificial intelligence, specifically in how it can quickly analyze the human voice, is at the core of Dialpad acquiring TalkIQ in a deal announced on Wednesday. Both startups had gotten some buzz in recent months, but Dialpad, the acquirer, was far bigger, having raised $70 million and carrying a valuation of about $250 million, according to PitchBook. TalkIQ had raised about $22 million in funding.

Oracle announced today that it has acquired DataScience.com, Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In the near term, not much will change for customers of Datascience.com But Oracle envisions combining its Cloud Infrastructure service with Datascience.com's "Every organization is now exploring data science and machine learning as a key way to proactively develop competitive advantage, but the lack of comprehensive tooling and integrated machine learning capabilities can cause these projects to fall short," Amit Zavery, vice president of Oracle's Cloud Platform, said in a statement.