Microsoft (MSFT) Makes Investment in Google-Free Android Developer

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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