Microsoft acquires Lobe, an AI startup working on easy-to-use deep-learning development tools

Artificial intelligence tools will never be widely used if it takes decades of expertise to put them into action, which is why cloud companies have been working hard to make them easier to use and more accessible. Microsoft took another step in that direction Thursday with the acquisition of San Francisco-based Lobe. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a blog post written by Kevin Scott, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief technology officer, announcing the acquisition. Founded by Mike Matas, Adam Menges, and Markus Beissinger in 2015, Lobe created visual tools that can build deep-learning models with a drag-and-drop user interface, rather than lines of code. Lobe will continue to operate its service under Microsoft, according to its web site.