{"id":749933,"date":"2013-05-06T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T20:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=642684"},"modified":"2013-05-06T16:42:17","modified_gmt":"2013-05-06T20:42:17","slug":"samsung-acquires-second-screen-startup-movl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/749933","title":{"rendered":"Samsung acquires second-screen startup MOVL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samsung has acquired the Atlanta-based second-screen startup MOVL<\/a>. The acquisition happened last month but hasn\u2019t been reported until now. Terms of the deal haven\u2019t been disclosed, but it looks like a typical acqui-hire.<\/p>

A MOVL spokesperson confirmed the acquisition when contacted by GigaOM, sending over the following statement:<\/p>

\u201cIn April 2013, two years after inception, MOVL has officially joined forces with Samsung. We are now a part of Samsung Electronics, and we are excited to combine our multi-screen capabilities with Samsung’s scale and innovation in its device ecosystem.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

MOVL has developed a number of second-screen games for connected TVs. Some of the better-known titles include PokerFun, which lets users play poker on the TV while displaying the cards they are holding on their smart phones, and WeDraw, a social drawing game for Samsung smart TVs and Google TV devices.<\/p>

However, MOVL didn\u2019t just develop games. The company also built a second-screen development platform dubbed MOVL Connect that simplified the process of developing these kinds of multi-screen applications. MOVL\u2019s games are based on and meant to demonstrate the capabilities of that platform, as CTO Alan Queen told me in 2011.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>

One of the main capabilities of that platform has been to allow users to join a game, or interact with an app running on their TV even if their phone doesn\u2019t reside on the same Wi-Fi network — something that\u2019s especially important for social apps, but that also lowers the bar for less technically inclined users. The platform is also capable of displaying synchronized ads on both screens.<\/p>

It\u2019s likely that MOVL will phase out the operation of its platform in the coming months. The company has a staff of nine, all of which have joined Samsung, with plans to relocate all Atlanta-based employees to the Bay Area. MOVL had raised a modest $1 million from Bert Ellis, Kris Pinto and Mark Cuban.<\/p>
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