Microsoft Rumored to Acquire Powerset Search Engine for $100M

Microsoft has agreed to buy Silicon Valley semantic search engine Powerset, say reports. According to Venture Beat, the deal could happen as early as next month with a price tag in the $100 million range - more than double the estimated value of the company.

The Powerset search engine first debuted in May. It strives to be different than say Google and Yahoo by giving you more meaningful and smarter search results than other search engines. Using simple phrases, short questions, and of course keywords, Powerset is supposed to understand what you are looking for and help you quickly find the information you need. We reviewed the beta version of the search engine in May and we were not impressed.

Ever since Microsoft's failed bid for Yahoo, the company has been searching for another way to compete with Google. Powerset's natural language or semantic based technology would seem to fit in with Microsoft's current strategy as we reported last month.

Microsoft's Search for Search

Natural language search is one of several new concepts for the next evolution of search engine technology. As we discussed in May, Powerset is designed to "understand what you are looking for and help you quickly find the information you need" using short phrases, questions and keywords instead of the traditional Google method that takes keywords and ranks Internet links based on a website's popularity. Powerset only searches Wikipedia at the moment, but the technology is promising and with Microsoft money behind it could edge the company's MSN brand closer to Google. But considering MSN is a distant third when it comes to search destinations behind Yahoo and Google, I'm not holding my breath.

When reached for comment by Venture Beat about the Powerset rumors, Microsoft spokesman Doug Free said Microsoft does "not comment on rumors or speculation."

Comments

Yahoo sucks bigtime !

stvh1

June 29, 2008

1:56 PM PT