Microsoft agrees to buy exited M12 AI startup Bonsai

Bonsai markets itself as a tool that makes it easier for developers to train autonomous systems to complete tasks by offering a simplified AI-building platform through the automation of complex machine learning algorithms.

What a day! Our customers, partners, investors, employees, and their families all deserve a huge thank you for their unwavering support. We could not be more excited for the opportunity to continue on this journey as part of @Microsoft

— Bonsai (@BonsaiAI) June 20, 2018

"To realize this vision of making AI more accessible and valuable for all, we have to remove the barriers to development, empowering every developer, regardless of machine learning expertise, to be an AI developer," said Microsoft Corporate VP Gurdeep Pall in the release. "Bonsai has made tremendous progress here and Microsoft remains committed to furthering this work." Bonsai is an exited portfolio company from M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund. Bonsai is M12's first exited venture.

Excited that @M12vc’s first exit won’t be going far! We’ve seen first-hand the immense talent of the @BonsaiAI team, and we're thrilled to welcome them to @Microsoft to help realize our shared vision for #AI. Congrats to all. https://t.co/COMzsBXH0s

— Peggy Johnson (@PeggyJ) June 20, 2018

This week Microsoft also acquired Flipgrid, a social learning tool where users engage in video discussions on a variety of topics.