Microsoft is planning to invest in Cyanogen, an Android-based open source firmware distributor, in an attempt to weaken Google’s hold over Android, a source familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
According to reports, the software giant is planning to invest $70m in a round of equity financing. Another source familiar to the development told the news agency that it is raising money which could value the company at $500m.
The company has reportedly built an Android based operating system, which is expected to let users customise their mobile device and content, according to its website.
Microsoft phones run on the Windows Phone mobile operating system, but the market share of its own OS is just 3% which is likely to have triggered the move.
Android is an "open source" operating system, designed to be used by device makers for free, but Google forced the hardware makers to use Google apps and set Google search as the default for users in exchange for access to the search engine and other Goggle apps.
These restrictions made it harder for apps to succeed on Android that were in direct competition with Google apps.
Cyanogen provides an alternate version of the Android mobile operating system which is free from the restrictions imposed by Google, a feature that might have sparked the interest of Microsoft.
Cyanogen is reportedly in talks with hardware makers including Micromax to install its software in the new devices, and is likely to announce a deal soon.
