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Microsoft, Amazon, others reportedly eyeing Cyanogen for future smartphone software

CyanogenMod—which is probably the most well-known fork of Android—lets users customize their phone beyond what Google intends, and touts having as many as 12 million active installs across a variety of devices. But the company behind the famed alternative operating system is reportedly getting a lot of attention, notably from companies that would consider themselves some of Google’s biggest rivals.

The report comes from The Information, and while there isn’t much specific detail that was readily available to us due to the nature of that website, there’s at least a few interesting tidbits that can be had without having to go beyond the paywall.  Amazon.com, Microsoft, Samsung Electronics and Yahoo are the companies named in the report as potentially being interested in partnering with and/or acquiring Cyanogen.

Cyanogen apparently plans to raise a “Series C” round of funding at some point in the future, following taking in $30 million from various venture firms last year. And with this in mind, many of the aforementioned companies surely see the software as potentially becoming a complete alternative to Google’s Android at some point. The OnePlus One has enjoyed much success with the strategy of shipping its flagship with Cyanogen on board, and it looks like some of Google’s competitors might want to do something similar.

Microsoft is the company that stands out here, and if this report is to be believed, at least one person was recently briefed by Microsoft and said that the company had a “sit-down” with CEO Satya Nadella. Now before all of the Cyanogen loyal get too upset, it’s worth remembering that all of this is speculation for now and Cyanogen as you know it probably won’t be going anywhere for a little while longer.

 

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Avatar for Stephen Hall Stephen Hall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.