Microsoft's Acquisition of Zoomix Is Announced

Now it’s official - Microsoft (MSFT) has formally announced the acquisition of Israeli startup Zoomix, for an undisclosed amount, estimated at $20-30 million by market sources (according to Globes). Acquisition rumors were first reported about a month ago.

Following the acquisition, Zoomix’s team is set to join Microsoft’s R&D center in Israel, and Zoomix Accelerator, the company’s flagship product, will be folded in to the Microsoft SQL Server group. Zoomix operates in the Business Intelligence [BI] field, and develops technology to clear redundant data from company resources and unify original and consolidated data into highly usable structures. The company’s products, referred by President Michael Peretz as a “Firewall for Data Quality”, use artificial intelligence technology and require minimal user intervention.

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Zoomix went through a several embodiments. The company was originally founded in 1999 by Avinoam Omer, Noam Shindler, and Ariel Shoham, and served as an e-commerce bidding management system. In 2000, Zoomix got an offer to sell to Tradium for $10 million, but the founders believed that the company's potential was higher. In 2003, following the bubble burst, the concept of Zoomix changed as it joined JVP Studio, a startup incubator operated by JVP Ventures in Jerusalem.

To date, the company has raised $8 million mainly from JVP Ventures and the Safra Group.

Disclosure: None

Comments

[Tom B]

Probably a good move for MSFT. Looks like the kind of junk software that would be painful and arduous to administer, which is just what MSFT's fan base (MCSE IT welfare queens) love; something that allows them to add staff and resources.