Microsoft announced Monday that it has purchased email app maker Acompli for over $200 million.
The deal's announcement follows a week after the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant leaked its intent to buy the startup in a blog post, according to CNET. Microsoft didn't have the chance to delete the post, as RSS readers found it before anything could be done.
Acompli's app comes with an integrated calendar and works with Gmail. Microsoft Exchange was featured even before the recent acquisition. The San Francisco-based company launched two versions of its app this year, one for iOS devices in April and one for Android devices in December.
"In a world where more than half of email messages are first read on a mobile device, it's essential to give people fantastic email experiences wherever they go," Rajesh Jha, vice president of Microsoft Corporate and head of Office 365 and Outlook, wrote in Monday's blog post.
The exact cost of the deal has yet to be revealed.
Support for Google Apps, iCloud and Yahoo are also included in Acompli's service, TechCrunch reported. The company had previously been working on several enterprise pilot programs for Fortune 500 companies, which presents a great business opportunity for Microsoft.
The deal will have Acompli work within Office 365 as an independent group that will produce email products for iOS and Android. Whether Acompli will be rebranded or sold along with other Microsoft products is still being discussed. The company will maintain its focus solely on developing email-centered products.
"Eighteen months ago we started building a team and a product around the idea that we could make mobile email better," Acompli wrote in a blog post. "Today that journey continues as part of a larger organization with the technology, talent, and market reach that will help us take the vision of Acompli to hundreds of millions of mobile users across the world."
