Microsoft buys keyboard app firm SwiftKey in deal worth $250 million

Microsoft has officially acquired the makers of predictive keyboard mobile app SwiftKey. The London-based start-up behind the app has been brought into the Microsoft fold in a deal worth an estimated $250 million (£174m). Microsoft is believed to have a keen interest in the firm's artificial intelligence research, including its recently launched Neural Alpha app, which could make its Cortana assistant more accurate. The London-based start-up behind the SwiftKey predictive keyboard app (pictured) has been bought by Microsoft in a deal worth $250 million (£174m). The app is available in over 100 languages, including Arabic, Russian, Thai and Afrikaans, and predicts text as it learns from the user's swipes and key strokes SwiftKey was started by Cambridge graduates in 2008, launching its predictive auto-correcting keyboard app on Android in 2010 and iOS in 2014.