Automobile manufacturer Ford has acquired in-car connectivity application developer Livio for less than $10m (£6.2m).
The acquisition is expected to increase Ford’s in-car connectivity development capacity by providing access to each other’s engineers and unique intellectual property, allowing them to work towards developing smartphone-to-vehicle communications.
The move should also help Ford meet increasing consumers demand in safely accessing the electronic content in their vehicles.
Ford’s research and innovation CTO and VP Paul Mascarenas said: "With the additional expertise Livio provides us, Ford intends to continue to lead the next generation of in-car connectivity with technology advancements that give consumers more options to access their devices on the go."
Livio CEO Jake Sigal said: "We believe this partnership is an excellent match, as it will give us the ability to work with Ford to provide customers even more access to new technologies in the vehicle infotainment space."
Once it’s completed, Livio will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Global Technologies and will function as a separate department within Ford Electrical/Electronic Systems Engineering.
Ford said the transaction offers the car company access to the group of application developers, while allowing Livio to maintain its independent and entrepreneurial approach.
Ford has been offering in in-car connectivity systems since 2007 with the introduction of Ford SYNC.
Livio develops software-based vehicle information and entertainment solutions to improve the connection between software and hardware.
