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Microsoft acquires rapid prototyping firm The Marsden Group

The tech giant says the deal will enable it to create new customer value through experimentation and deep industry solutions

17 Mar 2021

Microsoft has acquired the British and Texas-based rapid prototyping company The Marsden Group for an undisclosed sum.

Omar Abbosh, Microsoft’s corporate vice-president of cross-industry solutions, announced the deal in a blog post, saying the acquisition will help Microsoft to create new customer value through experimentation and deep industry solutions based on the Microsoft cloud, edge and AI products.

The Marsden Group was already a Microsoft Gold Partner and works in the industrial, manufacturing and automotive sectors.

Andrew Pratt, president of the Marsden Group, wrote on LinkedIn: “We are excited to announce today that Microsoft has acquired The Marsden Group. We are thrilled to become part of the Microsoft team and continue the amazing work we have been doing together for the last few years. We appreciate everyone who has been supporting us on this journey. Thank you.”

Abbosh highlighted that there are unique challenges in asset-intensive industries when it comes to adopting new technologies such as connecting industrial equipment safely and securely to the cloud, overcoming data silos and supporting interoperability across modern and legacy systems.

“Through recent projects, I’ve seen firsthand what The Marsden Group and Microsoft can do, what’s possible when we bring together our cloud, edge, IoT, digital twin and AI capabilities with The Marsden Group’s speed, agility and technical creativity,” he wrote.

“We have done many wonderful things together in service of our customers and plan to do many more! Welcome to the family,” Abbosh wrote on LinkedIn.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a new platform designed to make it easy to build and operate AI-powered technology for use in low-power edge devices, like cameras and audio equipment.

It is called the Azure Percept Development Kit and the company hopes it will help create a Microsoft-powered ecosystem of edge devices designed for low-power implementations.