Facebook Inc.’s share price down, acquires voice-recognition start-up Wit.ai to expand reach beyond core products

The largest social network in the world, Facebook Inc., announced that it had purchased a voice-recognition start-up, which can “turn speech into actionable data”. The acquisition is considered part of a strategy that could provide the company with more data for better-targeted ads.

According to the companys statement officially released by a spokesperson, the start-up, called Wit.ai, is to move to Facebooks offices in Menlo Park. The spokesperson of the social network also explained that some of the start-ups employees are planned to be hired, including its three co-founders, but she refused to provide any more details about the acquisition.

Wit.ai confirmed the acquisition by publishing a blog post, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “Facebook has the resources and talent to help us take the next step.” As reported by CNBC, the company also said: “Facebooks mission is to connect everyone and build amazing experiences for the over 1.3 billion people on the platform — technology that understands natural language is a big part of that, and we think we can help.”

Wit.ai was founded a year and a half ago and is currently known for developing voice-recognition technology for wearables and Internet-connected appliances. It reported that more than 6 000 developers have already worked on its platform to make voice-based applications. The start-up revealed its interface is to remain open and free after it is purchased by Facebook.

The acquisition comes at a time when the tech company is trying to expand the range of Internet-connected devices. In addition, it will make Facebook more competitive to Apple Inc.s Siri.

Facebook has been trying to expand its reach beyond its core products such as PCs and portable devices like smartphones and tablets, and put its focus on wearable devices. In March last year it purchased Oculus VR at the amount of $2 billion.

Facebook Inc. lost 1.61% to close at $77.19 per share yesterday, marking a one-year gain of 41.49%. The company is valued at $218.71 billion. The companys shares traded at €64.25 in Frankfurt as of 8:11 GMT. According to CNN Money, the 44 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Facebook Inc. have a median target of $90.00, with a high estimate of $105.00 and a low estimate of $60.00. The median estimate represents a +16.60% increase from the last price of $77.19.