Samsung has announced that it will acquire U.S.-based cloud service provider Joyent. The South Korean vendor will leverage Joyent’s cloud platform for the Internet of Things, and powering its cloud-based services and software for mobile.
On Joyent’s blog, CEO Scott Hammond wrote:
As a result of this acquisition, Samsung will become an anchor tenant for Joyent’s Triton and Manta solutions, and will help fuel the growth of our team and the expansion of our worldwide data center footprint.
This acquisition, though, is about more than just adding financial muscle and scale. Joyent and Samsung share a culture of innovation and technical excellence, and bring together a set of highly complementary cloud, big data, mobile and IoT technologies.
Joyent will be a part of Samsung’s mobile business unit, but will continue to function as a standalone entity. Scott Hammond, CTO Bryan Cantrill, and VP of product Bill Fine will join Samsung to work on “company-wide cloud initiatives.”
Samsung has previously acquired SmartThings for $200 million in 2014, giving it a foothold in the conneceted home segment. The South Korean manufacturer also acquired mobile payments service LoopPay last year, leveraging its patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology in Samsung Pay.
In a blog post, Joyent CTO Bryan Cantrill talked about how the acquisition will “supercharge” Joyent’s technology.
Samsung to Acquire Joyent, a Leading Public and Private Cloud Provider
Samsung Electronics today announced that it has agreed to acquire Joyent, Inc., a leading public and private cloud provider. With Joyent’s superior cloud technology, Samsung will now have access to its own cloud platform capable of supporting its growing lineup of mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based software and services. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.
“Samsung evaluated a wide range of potential companies in the public and private cloud infrastructure space with a focus on leading-edge scalable technology and talent. In Joyent, we saw an experienced management team with deep domain expertise and a robust cloud technology validated by some of the largest Fortune 500 customers,” said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications business at Samsung Electronics.
As smartphones and connected-devices have taken hold across the world, cloud computing has become fundamental in providing users with exciting and reliable services and experiences on their devices. With leadership positions in both mobile and IoT, this acquisition represents Samsung’s commitment to provide a seamless user experience to millions of customers.
Joyent’s technology will strengthen this position, while allowing Samsung to scale its own cloud infrastructure and services as it continues to innovate with new software and technologies. Through this acquisition, Joyent’s talented 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.
“We are excited to join the Samsung family. 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,” said Scott Hammond, CEO of Joyent.
In addition, Joyent’s unique combination of container-native infrastructure, object storage, server-less computing, and Node.js expertise is perfectly suited to help Samsung meet the needs of its customers. As one of the world’s largest consumers of public cloud data and storage, Samsung will immediately benefit from having direct access to Joyent’s technology, leadership and talent. Likewise, Joyent will be able to take advantage of Samsung’s scale of business, global footprint, financial muscle and its brand power. Joyent will operate as a standalone company under Samsung and continue providing cloud infrastructure and software services to its customers.
Samsung’s Global Innovation Center spearheaded this acquisition for Samsung’s Mobile Communications business. “We work closely with startups to bring new software and services into Samsung, and one of the ways we do this is by driving strategic acquisitions,” said David Eun, President of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center. “Joyent is a great example of a leading and disruptive technology company that will make unique contributions to Samsung while benefitting from Samsung’s global scale and reach.”