The logo of Microsoft can be seen on a window of the “Microsoft Berlin” venue on November 5, 2013 in Berlin. The building includes among others a “Digital Eatery”, a briefing center and a start-up center and aims to become the company’s platform in Europe for networking and dialogue. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL
Credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL
Microsoft just became a Foursquare investor and the startup’s biggest source of revenue, as noted by The Wall Street Journal. The two companies have reached a licensing agreement that will see Foursquare’s valuable data used in products like Windows Phone and Bing.
As part of the deal, Microsoft is adding a $15 million investment to Foursquare’s $35 million Series D round from last December. According to the Journal, Foursquare was valued at $650 million when the round took place.
Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley told Fast Company that the licensing agreement goes deeper than a standard API integration and will offer access to features like real-time recommendations that aren’t yet part of the API. Microsoft, however, won’t have an exclusive on the data.
In a blog post announcing the new partnership, Foursquare wrote:
So, in the near future, when you use Microsoft devices powered by the Windows and Windows Phone operating systems and products like Bing, places will be enhanced by Foursquare – to provide contextually-aware experiences and the best recommendations of any service in the world
➤ Foursquare Teams With Microsoft for Dollars and Data
Thumbnail credit: John Macdougall / AFP / Getty Images
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