Amazon Acquires Siri-Challenger 'Evi' for $26 Million?
TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon has acquired Evi, a natural language search platform that is similar to Apple's Siri, for $26 million. The Evi app was originally posted on the App Store but Apple had threatened to remove because of similarities to Siri, but later said it would "work with" the company to reduce similarities. Evi remains available on the App Store.
TechCrunch understands from sources that the company has been sold to Amazon for $26 million. However, calls to Amazon PR, backers Octopus Ventures and the founders of Evi have ben met with a stoney silence. A spokesperson for Octopus told us: “On this occasion Octopus will decline to comment on this specific portfolio company”.
True Knowledge, the company behind Evi, licensed the same Nuance voice recognition technology that Apple uses in Siri and offers an array of information that seems to compare favorably to Siri's abilities. Evi first launched in early 2012.
Amazon has a number of possible uses for Evi, including building the service into its Kindle Fire tablet, or a possible Amazon phone.
Evi is a
free download for the iPhone. [
Direct Link]
Popular Stories
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company.
Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
While not too much has been reported about the next Apple Watch models, there are a few rumors about potential design changes and watchOS 27 features.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are expected to be released in September, and we have outlined some of the key rumored hardware and software changes below. A new Apple Watch SE is not expected this year, as that model was...
