Microsoft rebranded its Xbox Music service back in August, to a service now known as Groove, which brought in a number of new features aside from the name change.
Back before the app was renamed, there existed an app in the Windows Store called "Groove: Smart Music Player," which was developed by Canadian startup Zikera. And in a recent announcement by the company, Microsoft has acquired Zikera"s Groove service.
"Microsoft acquired everything from Groove," said Tri Nguyen, CEO of Zikera. However, he was not able to share anything more about the purchase, including how much Microsoft paid. The letter from Zikera regarding the acquisition stated:
Our journey started back in the days of the iPod. While it was a thing of beauty, we still struggled to choose what to play from our beloved music collection. From that instant, we envisioned a music player so intelligent that learns our tastes and habits in order to play the right music at the right time. Then Groove was born, and you made it a success. We are incredibly proud to have delighted you with a rich mobile experience and countless hours of music bliss through the tens of millions of personalized playlists we generated.
With the purchase of Microsoft in consideration, "Groove: Smart Music Player" will no longer be available to download on the Windows Store. However, those who have downloaded the app beforehand can still utilize it, yet no more updates will be pushed out to them.
Microsoft has yet to formally announce its acquisition of Groove.
Source: Groove on Medium via ZDNet