June 21 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed OpenAI has

acquired search and database analytics firm Rockset for an

undisclosed sum, the ChatGPT maker said on Friday.

A technology Rockset offers called vector search has

benefited from increased adoption as more applications use

artificial intelligence to power recommendation engines, voice

assistants, chatbots and detect anomalies.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Rockset said it will become a part of OpenAI and power the

retrieval infrastructure of the ChatGPT maker's products.

This means Rockset's expertise in real-time data processing

and vector search will enhance OpenAI's ability to quickly

access and analyze vast amounts of information, likely leading

to faster and more accurate responses from AI models.

CONTEXT

OpenAI is looking stay ahead of the curve by integrating new

functionalities in ChatGPT and develop new AI models to fend off

competition from the likes of Alphabet's Google and

Anthropic, among others.

Reuters reported last month OpenAI has been developing a

search engine product to potentially compete with Google and AI

search startup Perplexity.

Rockset, which counts Greylock, Sequoia and Hewlett Packard

Enterprise's ( HPE ) venture capital arm among its investors,

said in August last year it had raised $105 million in total

capital.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)