Foursquare is getting a $15 million investment from Microsoft to kick off a strategic partnership between the two companies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement will give Microsoft access to Foursquare’s massive trove of locations and check-in information which could be a massive boon for Bing Maps, especially as Google continues to try and leverage its ownership of Zagat and Google+ to enhance its own mapping product. Foursquare has a database of more than 60 million locations that is used by 45 million people to check in and post comments about where they’re spending time.
Windows and Windows Phone could also see benefits from the deal, since it’s possible that Microsoft could integrate Foursquare’s check-in tech into its operating systems.
In addition, it could bring fiscal benefits for Microsoft. The company invested in Facebook during the social network’s early days, and that holding has done an excellent job of cementing the relationship between the two companies, in addition to providing a fiscal return on investment as Facebook’s stock continues to rise.
Microsoft’s investment will join Foursquare’s war chest alongside the $35 million that the company raised in December on a $650 million valuation.
