Microsoft announced today that it had acquired San Francisco-based mobile email startup Acompli for an undisclosed amount.
Acompli is a free, business-focused email app for Apple iOS and Android devices. Based on the notion that one app should handle practically all email- and calendar-related functions with minimal typing, it features a “Focused Inbox,” which intelligently surfaces important emails across all email accounts and built-in predictive search.
Calendar integration enables users to share their availability while a “People” interface keeps track of emails, meetings and files from important contacts. The critically lauded technology is compatible with a wide range of email and cloud storage services, including Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, Google Apps, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook.com, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.
On Feb. 20, the company announced it had raised $7.3 million in a Series A round of financing headed by Redpoint Ventures, with the support of Harrison Metal and Felicis Ventures. “With the massive adoption of smartphones and apps in the workplace, Acompli is closing the gap between the old paradigm of desktop email and the untapped potential of what mobile email should be,” said Javier Soltero, CEO and co-founder of Acompli, in a statement at the time.
“We are committed to giving professionals the tools they need to do more in the moment with every email they receive on their smartphones,” added Soltero.
Last week, rumors surfaced that Microsoft was snapping up Acompli after the software giant’s RSS feed pointed to the following descriptive URL: http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2014/11/25/microsoft-acquires-acompli/. Clicking the link led to a non-existent blog post.
Today, Microsoft is making it official. “This acquisition is part of our company-wide effort to help people accomplish more with their mobile devices,” Rajesh Jha, corporate vice president of Outlook and Office 365, said in a statement.
The Acompli buy continues Microsoft’s push into multi-platform mobile productivity, which includes this year’s long-awaited launch of Office for iPad and an upcoming release for Android devices, added Jha. The startup’s tech will also help inform Outlook’s future development, he said.
“We’re excited about what’s possible as we build on the app’s success and bring it together with work currently in progress by the Outlook team,” Jha said. “Our goal is to deliver fantastic cross-platform apps that support the variety of email services people use today and help them accomplish more.”
After Acompli launched its app in April, “we began conversations with the folks at Microsoft about how we could go farther by integrating the capabilities of their Office 365 platform into our product while continuing to provide amazing support for email and file services from Apple, Dropbox, Google and Box,” revealed Soltero in a Dec. 1 blog post related to the deal. “Those conversations led to today, where we have decided the opportunity to join forces in pursuit of a better, faster, more powerful email experience is something we can do better as one company.”
In the meantime, everything is business as usual for current users; Acompli remains available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. “Your app and accounts will continue to work and the team will continue on our fast pace of improving and adding new functionality every couple of weeks,” Soltero wrote.