Microsoft has confirmed that it has sold some of its mapping assets to Uber, the company who has a mobile application that is battling taxi services around the world. The transaction means that about 100 employees from Microsoft will now be employed by Uber.
It has been rumored for some time that Uber has been wanting to bolster the maps that it uses for its ride-sharing application with rumors pointing to the fact that they are heavily interested in the possible sale of Nokia's Here maps. Currently, the service is using Google Maps.
Uber issued the following statement to Neowin:
"We’re excited about the talent and technology this acquisition brings. Mapping is at the heart of what makes Uber great. So we’ll continue to work with partners, as well as invest in our own technology, to build the best possible experience for riders and drivers."
If you have been following the Bing narrative that Microsoft has outlined, they have said time and time again that the engine is not for sale. Even though this asset sale to Uber does come from Bing, neither company outlined the terms of the agreement, the company has reiterated that it is not leaving the search arena.
Bing is embedded deep into the Microsoft ecosystem as it powers Cortana and search across all of the company's devices. Insiders at the company typically refer Bing as a fabric that helps tie many services and apps together and selling the entire asset would likely cause a wide disruption in many of the company's core products.
Source: TechCrunch
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