Select a region
Quitting your job to go in a completely different direction is always a crazily risky move. But for two Cambridge graduates, it might just have been the best decision they ever made.
John Reynolds and Dr Ben Medlock are set to become multi-millionaires after their company SwiftKey – a predictive keyboard powered by artificial intelligence (AI) – was bought by tech giant Microsoft in a deal reportedly worth £174 million.
The SwiftKey app was set up in 2008 and is now used on 300 million devices every day. It’s also been used to help scientist and Cambridge-based Professor Stephen Hawking to upgrade his communications by applying predictive language software to his system and enabling him to speak faster and continue to give lectures.
Reynolds and Medlock said in a statement: “We’re excited to announce an important milestone on SwiftKey’s journey. As of today, we have agreed to join the Microsoft family.”
Microsoft’s executive vice president of technology and research, Harry Shum, said of the deal: “We love SwiftKey’s technology and we love the team that Jon and Ben have formed.
“That’s why today I’m excited to welcome the company’s employees to Microsoft. We believe that together we can achieve orders of greater scale than either of us could have achieved independently.”
The pair used Medlock’s knowledge of natural language patterns and AI from his computer speech and science degree to create the SwiftKey system. It works by predicting what a user is typing based on their previous writing habits and finishing words for them so they can write faster.
What started as a side project – with both men working full-time elsewhere after graduation – quickly took off after the first SwiftKey app, supporting seven languages, was launched on Android in 2010.
It has since been downloaded via the Google Play Store more than 10 million times and has topped the download rankings in 47 countries. In 2014 the app was launched on the iPhone, and it was downloaded more than a million times in the US alone in its first time on the iOS App Store.
The app now supports more than 100 languages, has been incorporated into many apps as the default keyboard, and is pre-installed on many smartphones as the default typing tool.
Offices have been opened in San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea, alongside the headquarters in Southwark, south London, with the company now employing more than 160 staff.
Since its launch, SwiftKey reckons its predictive technology has saved users nearly two trillion keystrokes on their devices and more than 23,000 years of combined typing time.
Their statement added: “Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is to enhance interaction between people and technology. We think these are a perfect match, and we believe joining Microsoft is the right next stage in our journey.
“At times like this people tend to focus on founders. However, the heart of our company is the awesome team who chose to share this journey with us. We want to take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication and hard work.”
The app is available for free on Android and iOS.
