Microsoft has acquired Semantic Machines, a California-based conversational AI, to improve its Cortana, Azure Bot Service, and Microsoft Cognitive Services offerings.

As part of the acquisition, Microsoft will create a conversational AI centre of excellence in Berkeley, California in order “to push forward the boundaries of what is possible in language interfaces,” according to David Ku, CVP and chief technology officer of Microsoft AI & research, writing in a blog post.

The Semantic Machines team boasts some highly respected talent including Larry Gillick – former chief speech scientist for Siri at Apple – UC Berkeley professor Dan Klein, and Stanford University professor Percy Liang. There are also members of the team that worked on Google Now and others from Nuance Communications.

Microsoft’s acquisition comes not long after reports that it is working with Taiwanese electronic hardware manufacturer Quanta Computer to create its own smart speaker to take on the dominance of Amazon and Google in the space. This deal could be a step toward that becoming a reality.