Widevine Bought by Google as Streaming Video Heats Up

You heard it here first—the rumor, I mean. Now it’s confirmed. Seattle-based Widevine Technologies is being acquired by Google in a deal of undisclosed size. The Mountain View, CA-based search giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) said today in a blog post that “Widevine has made on demand services more efficient and secure for media companies, and ultimately more available and convenient for users.” Google says it will work with its new acquisition “to improve access to great video content across the Web.”

As I reported last month, the deal makes sense, because Widevine’s technology could fill a hole for Google TV in its competition with Apple and other tech companies. The competition seems to be heating up in online video distribution to different kinds of devices. Widevine’s software involves digital rights management, streaming, and copy protection and tracking technology that can be used by content owners, cable companies, and Internet service providers.

Widevine was founded in 1999 and has raised more than $65 million in financing. It is led by co-founders Brian Baker (CEO) and Jeremy Horwitz (vice president of security research).

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.