SEOUL, KOREA- Samsung Electronics acquired a string of promising foreign start-ups as part of its effort to strengthen its smart TV competitiveness.
The company acquired Boxee, a specialist in streaming devices that reproduce TV broadcasting and videos on a real-time basis, for about US$30 million. The coverage of the acquisition includes some technologies and human resources, not covering services.
Boxee, founded in 2007, is a tech start-up located in New York and Tel Aviv, Israel. Its set-top box “Boxee Box” allows users to use Internet-based contents more conveniently through TVs.
This acquisition is expected to clear the way for Samsung Electronics to strengthen its competitiveness in smart TV software, an area that it has been lagging.
Prior to the acquisition, Samsung Electronics acquired MOVL, a U.S.-based smart TV game company, in May 2013. Founded two years ago, MOVL has developed smart TV game apps such as Poker Fun and WeDraw.
