Following reports that Bixby has trouble comprehending English language, Samsung is said to have acquired Greek text-to-speech Innoetics.
Considering the company’s biggest claim-to-fame is a software system capable of comprehending and mimicking 15 languages (including Hindi and German) it’s not hard to imagine the purchase is Bixby-related.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Innoetics confirmed that Samsung had agreed to acquire the start-up.
“Samsung is always exploring ways to deepen our relationships with companies like Innoetics whose technologies present an opportunity to strengthen Samsung’s capabilities,” they said.
Samsung will reportedly retain Innoetics’ small team of employees.
However, the startup says on its website that it is discontinuing both its commercial and B2B services.
The move comes just weeks after Samsung launched the Bixby Preview Program in order to improve the assistant’s ability to comprehend English-speaking users.
Reception to the program has been less than stellar, with critics and customers finding Bixby to be unsatisfactory when it comes to responding to requests and questions.
“Many engineers in the US are making full efforts to develop the English version. But, (due to geographical and language barriers) their frequent reports to and communication with the management located in Korea makes the progress much slower than developing the Korean version here,” sources told The Korean Herald.
According to a seperate report by The Wall Street Journal, a late-July launch for Bixby is now considered unlikely.
