Pluto Technologies International Inc, the Boulder Colorado company developing a range of products to enable broadcasters to move into the digital era, has received the ultimate seal of approval with the investment of an unnamed sum from Microsoft Corp. The two companies have agreed to collaborate on ‘future developments’. Mark Gray, Pluto CEO, chairman and founder said: Microsoft is, and will continue to be, a significant influence in the world affecting the transition to future television systems. This new investment provides a solid financial foundation for the company, and strengthens Pluto’s position as a provider of video and networking solutions for our broadcast and production customers. Pluto offers storage, networking, digital video recorders, and plans to launch a multi-channel broadcast server later this year. Despite the Microsoft investment, Pluto devices can be connected not only to Windows and NT-based computers but also Macintosh and those running on Unix/Irix platforms. Since Mark Grey, a man who spent 27 years in the TV and broadcast industry, started the company in 1995, it has attracted investment from Avid Technologies, The Centennial Fund, Asia-Pacific Ventures and Aweida Ventures.
