Microsoft is interested in expanding its recent acquisition spree by picking up social reader application Prismatic, a social reader application, according to a report by TechCrunch. The San Francisco-based company is reportedly up for sale, and Microsoft is one of its leading suitors, along with serious interest from Apple and Yahoo.
Prismatic is an interesting choice – the company provides users with recommendations about articles to read based on their interests and the articles that other people they’re connected to on social networks. In addition, people can discuss content shared on the platform through Prismatic, creating another channel for users to talk about the news they’re reading.
Prismatic’s technology is interesting, but the company hasn’t quite found traction with a wide base of users. According to App Annie, its iPhone app hasn’t been able to get up over 300 in either the social networking or news categories on Apple’s App Store. Its Android app only has between 5,000 and 10,000 installs.
According to the report, the company – which has already raised $15 million – isn’t seeking additional funding. Prismatic’s technology, however, could power improved news sharing technology for something like the Reading List feature in Windows or Apple’s Safari browser.
Representatives for Microsoft and Prismatic did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this report.