BitTorrent acquires uTorrent

December 7, 2006 | Matt Marshall
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BitTorrent, the San Francisco file sharing company that just received $20 million in venture backing to boost its video distribution offering, has just acquired the popular uTorrent application.

The amount was undisclosed. Like BitTorrent, uTorrent uses the same popular “bittorrent” protocol to distribute its files. But uTorrent’s application is lightweight and high-performance version, popular with Windows

The combination helps BitTorrent’s in its efforts to stake out a leading role in video distribution, as it cuts deals with studios and other content publishes. Apple, Walmart and Amazon have all become competitors.

Other companies, such as Azureus (which we wrote about earlier) and uTorrent have also become popular. Combined, uTorrent and BitTorrent have a combined installation base exceeding 135 million, BitTorrent said.

The objective, BitTorrent said, is to combine BitTorrent’s expertise in networking protocols with uTorrent’s compelling user interface.

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About the Author,

Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.

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