RealNetworks buys Varia, combines with secret project |
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Mass High Tech
RealNetworks buys Varia, combines with secret project
RealNetworks has scooped up Seattle startup Varia Mobile, TechFlash has learned. Spokesman Bill Hankes confirmed the purchase today, though he declined to offer many details as to the mysterious project that the Varia team will be working on at Real.
Varia Mobile CEO John McQueen has joined RealNetworks as vice president of business development and OEM, a new position at the company. He will report to Hank Skorny -- whose hiring last October as senior vice president, media cloud computing and services sparked speculation of a secretive effort inside the company.
After Skorny's hiring, a TechFlash reader found a job listing indicating that the media cloud team "is building a product and service that will provide the casual user the ability to backup their most prized content (Photos, Music, etc) and access that content on their computer, mobile device or living room device."
That's especially interesting given Varia's technology and history.
Just six months ago, Varia laid off a portion of its staff and abandoned efforts to sell a WiFi-enabled MP3 player called the Ibiza. That device -- which sold for as much as $330 -- included the RealNetworks' Rhapsody music service.
RealNetworks took a minority interest in Varia last year, with the full acquisition closing last week. Hankes declined to comment on the purchase price or the reason for the acquisition since the technology and team will be integrated with Skorny's stealthy project.
"We are not going to comment beyond recognizing the work that they have done in the past. We are going to keep our powder dry for future announcements," Hankes said.
Eight employees from Varia are joining RealNetworks, with Hankes calling the engineering staffers from Varia "first class."
RealNetworks has been integrating its Rhapsody music service with mobile platforms in recent months, with the company releasing an iPhone app this past fall. It plans to roll out an app for Android devices this year.
Originally started as Wildseed and backed by the likes of Ignition Partners, the company was sold off to AOL in 2005 and combined with the Tegic Communications unit in Seattle.
When AOL dismantled its mobile business units, some of the original Wildseed team purchased the assets in 2007.
John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow on Twitter @johnhcook.
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