Harry McCracken, reporting for Fast Company: On Monday, Microsoft made headlines by plunking down $26 billion for LinkedIn. Now it’s announcing its second acquisition of the week: For an undisclosed sum, the company has bought Wand Labs, a Silicon Valley-based startup that declares its mission is “to tear down app walls, integrate your services in chat, and make them work together so you can do more with less taps.” Founded in 2013, Wand is tiny — it has just seven employees — and, though no longer in stealth mode, is hardly a household name. The iOS and Android apps it built haven’t yet reached general availability, and now they never will, as their creators put them aside and contribute to the greater Microsoftian effort.Wand Labs’ purchase marks Microsoft’s 197th acquisition of another company.

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Source: Slashdot – Microsoft Boosts Its Chatbot Future By Acquiring Wand Labs