Twitter Buys Magic Pony Technology to Expand in Machine Learning

Twitter Inc. agreed to acquire a London-based artificial intelligence startup to make tweeted live videos look more professional. In a blog post Monday, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said he was buying Magic Pony Technology "so Twitter can continue to be the best place to see what's happening and why it matters, first." Seeking to shore up slowing growth, the social media company has in recent months begun emphasizing video on its site. Magic Pony uses machine learning, a way of teaching software to perform tasks without explicit programming instructions based on pattern recognition, a technology that's "increasingly at the core of everything we build at Twitter," Dorsey said. Twitter paid about 150 million for Magic Pony, according to a person familiar with the matter.