Microsoft to spend $30 million to buy news reader Prismatic?

A published report on Sunday cites multiple sources as saying that Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo are fighting each other in an effort to purchase social news reader Prismatic. Besides the trio, Google and Facebook are also both said to have an interest in the app. One source says that Microsoft will end up paying $30 million for Prismatic.

The app, which is available for iOS, Android and the web, scours sites for news you might want to read based on your stated interests, the interests of your friends, and your response to similar news. Did you read a similar story that the app presented to you, or did you discard it? Did you share it with friends, or toss it like it was last week's trash?

According to AppAnnie, Prismatic started life two years ago as one of the top ten iPhone apps. Now, it is number 758 which makes you wonder what the big boys see in it that John Q. Public doesn't. Last year, it debuted on Android, but the platform has been cold as ice with only 5000 to 10,000 users signed up.

Perhaps Microsoft sees this as a good addition to Bing. And while $30 million might seem like plenty of money, all of the tech giants doing due diligence on the app can easily afford to make the purchase. If it works out, it's a great acquisition for one of them. If it fails, it's just a $30 million hit.

Prismatic is a start-up and so far it has raised $15 million from the likes of Accel Partners, Jim Breyer, Yuri Milner and Javelin’s Alex Gurevich. A $30 million purchase would see them double their money. Not a bad return on investment.


source: TechCrunch