Google acquires Web-conferencing company, Marratech
Google has bought online video-conferencing software company, Marratech, the latest in a barrage of software application announcements by the online giant.
Google announced the acquisition on its blog, saying the Sweden-based Marratech will be great for Google’s own workplace because Googlers “thrive on casual interactions and spontaneous collaboration.”
Video-conferencing is a logical next move for Google, given its dive into online video recently with the acquisition of YouTube. It’s just the latest front in its battle against Microsoft, which has its own web conferencing software Live Meeting. Cisco, meanwhile, just acquired another major player in the industry, WebEx, for $3.2 billion.
The difference, of course, is that Google paid pennies relative to what Cisco paid. As a consumer oriented company, Google can presumably distribute the software easily and perhaps even for free. Marratech, founded in 1998, raised at least the equivalent of $10 million. Investors include Slottbacken Venture Capital, the investment unit of Telia Sonera, the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund, Emano, Hagstromer, and Qviberg.
This follows a number of new offerings by Google in the past few days, including a StumbleUpon clone that recommends other sites you might be interested in, a revamping of its shopping site, and the release of its Powerpoint look-alike. No word yet on whether Marratech will be implemented into Google Talk anytime soon. Marratech lets groups and individuals communicate over the Web, fully collaborative features such as an interactive whiteboard.
Next Story: Roundup: Google's StumbleUpon clone, Froogle gone, Google phone, more
Previous Story: Powerbeam, the wireless electricity start-up
About the Author, Matt Marshall
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.
