Microsoft (MSFT) Makes Investment in Google-Free Android Developer
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Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) hasn't really gotten a good foothold in the mobile device market and it hopes to change that with its latest investment.
According to WSJ, Microsoft has piled money into Cyanogen, which is a startup that is building a version of the Android mobile operating system that is outside of Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) control.
While Android is open, Google has pressured device makers to include Google-specific apps like YouTube or its Play Store for mobile apps.
Cyanogen says it has circumvented those requirements and has a network of some 9,000 developers working on content for its version of Android.
Microsoft would be a minority owner of Cyanogen, which recently completed a $70 million round of financing. The company is said to be valued in the high hundred-million dollar range.
News also comes as Microsoft is girding to launch a mobile version of its Windows 10 platform sometime later this year. It's not clear whether Android would be the basis for that initiative.
Shares of Microsoft are down 2.5 percent.
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