Intel Corporation (INTC) Acquires Siri-Like Software Firm For $30M

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s personal assistant software Siri has serious competition. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) just acquired Siri-like software Ginger for $30 million. The chipmaker hopes to improve its artificial intelligence projects.

Exciting possibilities for the Jarvis headset

It is also rumored that the company’s purported Jarvis Headset could feature personal assistant capabilities without an Internet connection.

Ginger Software was an Israeli-based startup created by Yael Krov. The software is expected to blend with the rest of the company. The rest of the software’s employees will continue to develop products under the company. Developers for Ginger include the company’s chief executive officer Maoz Schacht.

The history of Ginger

Ginger was initially found in 2007 as a way to develop algorithms and tools for identifying errors in the English language. This particular platform only corrects spelling and grammar errors. In early 2012, Ginger raised $6.3 million from Israel-based capital firm Vaizra Ventures. Shortly after that, the company retained former Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) executive Net Jacobsson. He helped Ginger earn another $5.4 million from Li-Ka, Shing Horizon Ventures and Harbor Pacific Capital. The money was given to Ginger so it could eventually develop a personal digital assistant.

Karov told Geektime during an interview, “Ginger’s ‘English as a second language’ technology is still moving forward, and a part of the money we got from this deal will be used to supply its demand in the market. We are planning to use our new resources to bring the company to profitability, improve our existing line of products, serve our existing customers and bring in new ones. We’ve built an innovative technology, and I am feeling lucky to have worked with each and every one of the team members. Now, we have a new opportunity to continue building this technology under Intel’s roof, and I am happy that the other teams also got what they needed in order to keep moving forward.”

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s latest venture could be huge.

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