PALO ALTO,
CA – Powerset and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) have
announced an agreement to collaborate and exclusively license the natural
search technology developed by PARC over the last three decades.
The agreement calls for patent licenses and a long-term
collaboration agreement with the aim of continuing to refine natural search
capabilities of the technology. Powerset
and PARC representatives claim that their technology will fundamentally change
the way that humans interact with computers, allowing them to ask questions in
natural speech rather than keywords.
PARC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Xerox Corporation. Powerset is privately-held and backed by Foundation
Capital and the Founders Fund.