Samsung’s has announced an acquisition of a wireless enterprise startup “TACHYON” a specialist in mobile device configuration and security for businesses.
Samsung plans to integrate Tachyon into its enterprise offer to help businesses speed up the secure configuration of third-party apps on their Samsung devices, regardless of whether the third-party app provides APIs for this purpose.
Tachyon — a physics term for a particle that travels faster than the speed of light — was developed as part of a larger enterprise mobility solutions startup called Kaprica, which Samsung is not buying.
Kaprica will continue to build out the other part of its business after the spinoff, focusing specifically on a connected vehicle security service called RunSafe. CEO/founder Doug Britton and Samsung both confirm Kaprica will continue to work with Samsung in that capacity as a “Gold Level” partner.
The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed, but Samsung and Kaprica confirm that Samsung is taking on several parts of the business: Tachyon employees, the technology and related IP and (importantly) Tachyon’s customers, which included organizations in federal law enforcement, the Department of Defense (DoD), hospitals and vehicle fleets in the U.S. and Europe. To date, Kaprica has raised around $700,000 from investors that it declined to name.
Samsung remains the world’s biggest handset maker, but it has seen a lot of pressure on growth as saturation continues to permeate the market, newer competitors move in and it faces some of its own specific problems, such as the impact its brand might face after it had to recall its faulty, overheating Note 7 devices.
