14 DAY TRIAL // Avast announced the acquisition of Czech-based Inmite, a startup company that develops applications for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, thus taking a large step forward to increasing its presence in the mobile world.
Since cybercriminals have already started to target mobile platforms, the security firm seeks to improve their products to work on these devices.
Vince Steckler, CEO at Avast says that “cybercriminals are increasingly targeting smartphones and tablets – and consumers want our solutions to protect them from Wi-Fi attacks, phishing threats, or having their device lost or stolen. They want to be free to use their mobile devices, knowing they are in safe hands. Inmite will bring continued innovation to meet this need for our global users.”
By incorporating Inmite, Avast adds to its team 40 experienced mobile developers, who, since 2008, have created a set of 150 apps for the automotive (a car buying app for Skoda), banking, media and telecommunications industries. They are also the first to build a banking prototype for Google Glass.
There is no information about the price of the acqui-hire, but the two companies told Venture Beats that it was a seven-figure deal in USD.
With the new members in its team, Avast increased the number of mobile developers to 80. As far as the user base is concerned, the security company touts a total number of 220 million, and many of them are shifting their activity to mobile devices.