Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is rumored to be acquiring Powerset.  Powerset is a semantic search engine company that raised over $12.5 million in funding a couple of years ago with a valuation of $42.5 million.  Powerset at one point claimed that their technology had a few steps up on Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): the ability to decipher the full meaning of phrases while searching.

Two years later, Powerset’s first product was a Wikipedia-search feature.   

I’m sure Powerset could have come up with a better way to show off their technology.  Powerset’s Wikipedia search just doesn’t seem exciting.  Especially since Wikipedia already has a built-in search engine and Google works even better for finding things on Wikipedia.

Powerset is now ready to flip though.  They’ve specifically hired Allen & Co. to help them find someone to buy them for a price that is about $100 million or more.   Is Microsoft actually going to pay that price?  We’ll find out next month.  VentureBeat broke the news of the acquisition rumor.

Related Links:
Powerset website
TechCrunch
VentureBeat