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Neverware, makers of the Chromium OS-based platform CloudReady, has been burning the candle at both ends as of late. On the heels of their Series B round of funding which included major investments from the likes of General Catalyst, Rethink Education and even Google, Neverware descended in force on the annual BETT conference in London while simultaneously setting up shop at the FETC (Future of Education Technology) Conference in Orlando the last week of January.
It seems that increased product visibility isn’t the only thing Neverware has had in the works over the past few months.
Today, Neverware has announced the acquisition of the UK/China-based company Flint OS. Here’s the official word from the desk of Neverware’s CEO Andrew Bauer.
Since our October announcement regarding Google’s investment in Neverware, we’ve seen a meaningful increase in international demand for CloudReady. At the same time, we have been monitoring the progress of Will and the Flint OS team in Europe. We couldn’t be more excited to work together with the talented Flint team to speed the growth of CloudReady’s global footprint.
In case you’re unfamiliar with these companies, CloudReady by Neverware and Flint OS are both operating systems built with Chromium OS, the open-source version of Chrome OS. The vision of both companies is to assist schools as well as enterprises in repurposing old PCs to run the lightweight software and provide management solutions for the devices.
Flint OS CEO and co-founder Will Smith will remain with the firm and will assume the new role of Neverware’s Head of European Operations, working from London.
We created Flint with the vision that all applications and services we use today will be living in the cloud, and can be done through a single browser window,” Smith said. “Neverware believes just as keenly in that vision, and I look forward to working with them to bring a lightweight, modern operating system to the European market.
While the two operating systems are built from the same platform, each offers their own unique capabilities as well as user experience. Neither OS currently supports Android apps in their official builds but Flint OS has been working on a Beta version that would bring Play Store support to the Chrome OS clone. Hopefully, with the support of their new parent company Neverware, they can make that dream a reality and bring a whole new level of functionality to both operating systems.
If you’re interested in giving CloudReady or Flint OS a try to breathe some life back into your old PC, you can find out more at the links below. Oh yeah, did I mention that the home editions are FREE?
CloudReady by Neverware
Flint OS
Source: Neverware
