Microsoft invests in India's Builder.ai, marking another tie-up for AI

Indian company helps clients make apps without any coding experience

US technology giant Microsoft has invested an undisclosed sum in Builder.ai, an Indian start-up that helps companies develop applications without needing any coding experience.

The investment marks Microsoft scaling up its efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and competing with rival Google. Microsoft and Builder will collaborate in creating AI-powered solutions that help businesses become digitally savvy without needing technical expertise.

“From my first meeting with Microsoft to the moment we agreed to collaborate more strategically, one thing has been really clear-Microsoft’s commitment to helping everyone unlock their true potential,” said Sachin Dev Duggal, chief wizard and founder of Builder.ai.

“We are ecstatic that the world’s largest software company chose Builder.ai as a collaborator to lay down deeper roots in helping the next 100 million businesses and beyond become digitally native,” he said.

The companies declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Established in 2016, Builder.ai provides an AI-powered software platform that allows anyone to build an app (web or mobile), quickly and cheaply. It breaks software down into its reusable lego-like features, coupled with customisation from its network of designers and developers.

The collaboration will accelerate go-to-market growth of the Builder.ai platform through deep product connections across the Microsoft product ecosystem. This includes integrations across Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure Cognitive Services with Builder.ai’s software assembly line and adoption of the Microsoft Cloud and AI. Native integration of Builder.ai’s Natasha, an AI product manager, within the Microsoft Teams store will enable Microsoft customers to build a prototype of their business applications seamlessly. This would unlock access and reach new customers for Builder.ai.

“We see Builder.ai creating an entirely new category that empowers everyone to be a developer,” said Jon Tinter, corporate vice president, business development, Microsoft. “Our new, deeper collaboration fuelled by Azure AI will bring the combined power of both companies to businesses around the world.”

Microsoft has scaled up its investments in AI lately. The company reportedly invested $13 billion into OpenAI, the company behind the popular artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGP. It has embedded the firm’s AI language processing software into its Office productivity apps and Bing search engine.

Through the new collaboration, Builder.ai will help businesses advance their digital transformation journey in a frictionless manner. It would offer customers integrated access to cloud services on Azure (payments, infra, messaging etc) to support the applications they are building.