Samsung Electronics has agreed to acquire US cloud services provider Joyent for an undisclosed sum.
Joyent provides container-native infrastructure, simple public cloud and private cloud software solutions for real-time web and mobile applications.
The deal will help Samsung build its own cloud infrastructure and gives the company its own platform to support mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based software and services.
Joyent will become part of Samsung’s mobile communications business, but continue to operate as a standalone company after the deal is finalised.
Joyent’s team of technologists, including CEO, Scott Hammond, CTO, Bryan Cantrill, and VP of Product, Bill Fine will join Samsung to work on company-wide cloud initiatives.
Hammond said: "Samsung brings us the scale we need to grow our cloud and software business, an anchor tenant for our industry leading Triton container-as-a-service platform and Manta object storage technologies, and a partner for innovation in the emerging and fast growing areas of mobile and IoT, including smart homes and connected cars."
Joyent’s combination of container-native infrastructure, object storage, server-less computing, and Node.js expertise helps Samsung meet its customers requirements.
This is Samsung’s third major acquisition of a US startup in the last two years. It follows the South Korean firm’s agreements to buy IoT expert SmartThings and mobile payment firm LoopPay.
Samsung currently depends hugely on Microsoft and Amazon for cloud services, and the acquisition of Joyent gives the company a direct entry into cloud services.
Read Joyent’s CTO’s blog on the acquisition
