Microsoft acquires and shutters messaging startup Wand Labs

Microsoft announced this morning that it’s acquired messaging and chatbot startup Wand Labs. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

On Microsoft’s blog, corporate VP David Ku said the deal “accelerates our vision and strategy for Conversation as a Platform, which Satya Nadella introduced at our Build 2016 conference in March.” Ku went on to say that Wand’s tech and team “will strengthen our position in the emerging era of conversational intelligence” — that is, the era of things like bots, a category which has proven troublesome for Microsoft.

While this “era of conversational intelligence” is just beginning, it’s also already crowded by startups and corporations alike. Microsoft certainly has plenty of time to make its mark, but the company’s mobile woes may hamper its success.

Following the acquisition, Wand CEO Vishal Sharma says the company’s services, which were only available in private beta, are shutting down. Sharma hints, however, that users should “expect to see familiar elements of our work in the future.”