Microsoft is reportedly the front-runner for Cyanogen, Inc.'s next funding round, trying to create a gap between loyal Google customers and those in favor of Cyanogen's ROM.

It's not clear what this gap will achieve other than adding more people that may not favor Google apps, but Microsoft was willing to go $70 million deep for a slice of Cyanogen, Inc..

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Cyanogen changed the funding goal to $110 million last week, valuing itself over 30 percent higher than a few months ago.

It's not clear what spurred Cyanogen's own valuation but the deal with Micromax might have opened the door to a large stake in the Indian smartphone business, especially since Google's own Android One effort isn't going as well as expected.

Having this strong pull in India alongside potential growth in other areas is enough to make investors interested, but Cyanogen is looking towards a new platform, partnerships with software giants and even more hardware partnerships.

One of these long term goals might mean a lot to Microsoft: software partnerships. Currently, the adoption rate of Office, OneDrive, Outlook, Skype and other services on mobile is low but partnerships with Android manufacturers might secure a few million users.

This is especially true if Microsoft is able to pre-load the apps like they've done with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. In places like India and China where Microsoft might not have as large a voice, it's crucial it has these partnerships.

It's also clear that Microsoft has its limits, and this seems to be $70 million or nothing. It's now up to Cyanogen to make the choice between Microsoft or a bunch of investors that might not want to fund over $100 million.

CyanogenMod is an open-source operating system for smartphones and tablet computers developed by Cyanogen and based on the Android mobile platform.  

TagsCyanogen, Micromax, Android ROM