Days after slamming Britain as no country for tech businesses, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has invested in a UK artificial intelligence company, Builder.ai.
The US software giant took a stake in the London-based startup, which uses AI to enable quicker and easier development of software apps.
Builder.ai, founded by entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal in 2016, said the two companies will "collaborate on creating AI powered solutions that empower businesses" to "become digitally native without the need for any technical expertise".
Microsoft's business development chief, Jon Tinter, said US$2.3trn behemoth sees Builder.ai "creating an entirely new category that empowers everyone to be a developer".
Less than two weeks ago, Microsoft's president Brad Smith said "people’s confidence in technology in the United Kingdom has been severely shaken" after the group's US$70bn takeover of video games developer Activision Blizzard was opposed by regulators.
Smith said the company was "very disappointed", that it was "probably the darkest day" in Microsoft’s 40-year history in the country and that the “English Channel has never been wider".