Microsoft Buys Text Analytics Firm Equivio

Software giant Microsoft has acquired Israeli legal text analysis firm Equivio for a reported figure of between $150m and $200m.

Equivio provides text analytics solutions that are used to perform multi-dimensional analyses of data and sort documents into themes for the legal and compliance sector, and the firm's Zoom machine learning platform has been 'court-approved' for the legal arena.

In a statement, Rajesh Jha (pictured), Microsoft's Corporate VP for Outlook and Office 365, said the acquisition will help his firm's clients tackle the legal and compliance challenges inherent in managing large quantities of e-mail and documents.

'Microsoft Office 365 includes robust eDiscovery and information governance capabilities today, and we'll use Equivio's machine learning technology to make these vital tools even more intelligent and easy to use in the months ahead,' Jha stated. 'I am extremely excited about the innovative technologies and experienced team we're bringing to Microsoft as we advance this important work.'

Web sites: www.microsoft.com and www.equivio.com .