Incesoft and mInfo announced today that they will collaborate to bring advanced conversational search to Chinese MSN instant messenger (IM) users. The companies will cooperate on both the technical and the marketing side to distribute the XiaoMing IM search robot to the land of dragons.
“Currently there are over 80 million mobile instant messaging users in China. With this number having grown over 400% just in this year, it’s clear to see the promising future of IM on mobile devices and the pending need for search capabilities by these users,” said Alvin Wang Graylin, CEO of mInfo. “One of mInfo’s technical strengths is in supporting natural language search, which coincides well with instant messaging that is
inherently a natural language communications tool. The alliance with Incesoft will provide our joint users with more conveniences and easier access to useful information whether on mobile devices or PCs.”
Incesoft’s Xiao-i and mInfo’s XiaoMing are both IM robots with complementary capabilities. By working together, the two companies hope users will enjoy clear and immediate benefits. XiaoMing’s unique capabilities in rich daily- life and local search content was where Incesoft found the most synergies. Moreover, Xiao-i could distribute its contents to more users through mInfo’s SMS and WAP platforms.
“With the upcoming 3G license issuance in China, the mobile services market will grow dramatically,” said Hui Yuan, CEO of Incesoft. “mInfo is definitely the best partner to choose in bringing a more natural mobile search experience to our users.”