More signs today pointing to Skype’s expansion: reports that the VOIP giant has acquired mobile video streaming company Qik for $100 million.
Update: Skype has confirmed the acquisition on its blog: “Through this acquisition, we’ll also be able to take advantage of the engineering expertise that is behind Qik’s Smart Streaming technology, which optimizes video transmission over wireless networks.”
The tip comes from a reliable source, according to Business Insider, who broke the news of the acquisition this morning. Neither Skype nor Qik have confirmed this, and we’ll update this story when we hear more. The two companies do share some of the same investors, notably Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
Qik was founded in 2006 as a way to enable mobile phone users to share live video. It launched in public beta in 2008, but saw huge growth during 2010. According to its blog, the company started the year with 600,000 users and ended the year with 5 million. The growth came as Qik rolled out new apps and worked with partners like Sprint, T-Mobile, Nokia and Samsung to make the video streaming available on all the major smartphones.
For Skype, both mobile and video have been two important areas it has pursued. Just last month, it added video-calling functionality to its iPhone app.
So if the news of a Qik acquisition is true, we can expect to see more developments with the combination of video, mobile and Skype VOIP on other smartphones in the months ahead.
