Research In Motion is beginning to work a virtuous circle, as start-ups that Canada's leading tech company directly or indirectly backed are brought back into the fold.
RIM quietly made a pair of acquisitions in the last two weeks, with both takeovers meant to increase the consumer reach of the BlackBerry and its successors. A tip of the hat to the Waterloo Tech Digest for flagging these deals in a report on Monday.
The first purchase saw RIM buy a Toronto-based company called Viigo - no terms were released. Viigo puts news and other media onto a BlackBerry's screen: The company states its mission is nothing less than "Be the dominant software provider for the delivery of syndicated content and related media and services to the wireless industry." The Globe and Mail, National Post and CFL are partners in the venture.
Here's where RIM is reaping a crop planted years ago. Viigo was co-founded in 2004 by a University of Waterloo grad named Jay Steele - RIM has been a long-time supporter of the school, which educated many of its own executives.
And Viigo was backed by venture capitalists that include the BlackBerry Partners Fund. That is the $150-million VC venture was launched by RIM and two partners in May, 2008, during the worst days of the credit crunch.
Thomson Reuters and Royal Bank stepped up with RIM as backers of the BlackBerry fund, with a strategy of expanding on RIM's beachhead in the tech sector by putting venture capital into companies that were developing mobile applications and services. JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners actually run the fund, and there are currently eight companies listed in the BlackBerry Partners portfolio.
RIM's other recent deal saw the company purchase Ottawa-based QNX Software Systems - not terms were given on this transaction either.
Again, there is a University of Waterloo connection: QNX was founded by graduates of the school who include CEO Dan Dodge. The company builds entertainment software used in cars. Gary Will, author of the Waterloo Tech Digest, noted that RIM bought this company from Connecticut-based stereo maker Harman International, which paid $138-million for QNX in November 2004.
Andrew Willis