Myriad Group
Encyclopedia
Myriad Group is a French
/Swiss
software
company in the mobile phone
sector. It was established in 2009 by the merge of the companies Purple Labs and Esmertec. The two companies had mostly common owners, and the deal was executed so that Esmertec, a publicly listed company, acquired Purple Labs in exchange of shares of the company. The merged company has around 800 employees.
The original Purple Labs was French
, headquartered in Chambéry
, and developed and marketed Linux
-based software to mobile OEMs
and ODMs
. With its 2008 purchase of Openwave
's mobile software suite, it owns the Openwave mobile browser, one of the most widely-used mobile internet browsers. The browser has been shipped in over 2.24 billion devices, as of the end of 2010.
Esmertec was a provider of Java
in-device engines and mobile services platforms, headquartered in Zurich
, Switzerland.
As part of the new company structure, Myriad now also offers products and services for Mobile Operators, including:
Simon Wilkinson was appointed in October 2007, shortly after the firm raised $14.5 million in venture capital
funding. On June 30, 2008, Purple Labs acquired Openwave
's mobile phone client software division, which develops browser and messaging client technologies, for $32 million. On July 31, 2008 the company agreed to acquire Sagem Communication
's mobile phone software and associated engineering teams.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
/Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
company in the mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
sector. It was established in 2009 by the merge of the companies Purple Labs and Esmertec. The two companies had mostly common owners, and the deal was executed so that Esmertec, a publicly listed company, acquired Purple Labs in exchange of shares of the company. The merged company has around 800 employees.
The original Purple Labs was French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, headquartered in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, and developed and marketed Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based software to mobile OEMs
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
and ODMs
Original Design Manufacturer
An original design manufacturer is a company which designs and manufactures a product which is specified and eventually branded by another firm for sale. Such companies allow the brand firm to produce without having to engage in the organization or running of a factory...
. With its 2008 purchase of Openwave
Openwave
Openwave is a software company. Based in Redwood City, California, USA, Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector...
's mobile software suite, it owns the Openwave mobile browser, one of the most widely-used mobile internet browsers. The browser has been shipped in over 2.24 billion devices, as of the end of 2010.
Esmertec was a provider of Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
in-device engines and mobile services platforms, headquartered in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland.
As part of the new company structure, Myriad now also offers products and services for Mobile Operators, including:
- USSD self-service capabilities
- sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on Java-enabled devices (including Android-based phones).
History of Purple Labs
The company was founded in 2001 by Jean-Luc Botto, Dennis O'Donovan, Sebastien Soyer and Jean-Marie Andre. Current chief executive officerChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Simon Wilkinson was appointed in October 2007, shortly after the firm raised $14.5 million in venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
funding. On June 30, 2008, Purple Labs acquired Openwave
Openwave
Openwave is a software company. Based in Redwood City, California, USA, Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector...
's mobile phone client software division, which develops browser and messaging client technologies, for $32 million. On July 31, 2008 the company agreed to acquire Sagem Communication
SAGEM Communication
SAGEMCOM is a French company, headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, involved in communication systems and consumer electronics.Formerly a division of SAGEM , Sagemcom became, in 2005, a subsidiary of SAFRAN, the high-technology international group formed by the merger of SAGEM and Snecma...
's mobile phone software and associated engineering teams.
Products
- Linux Platform
- Application suite
- Purple Magic (reference LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based 3G3G3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
mobile phone produced in conjunction with NXP Semiconductors) - Myriad Browser (previously Openwave Mobile BrowserOpenwaveOpenwave is a software company. Based in Redwood City, California, USA, Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector...
) - Mobile Messaging client (previously OpenwaveOpenwaveOpenwave is a software company. Based in Redwood City, California, USA, Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector...
, before that Magic4) - JBed, JavaME Virtual Machine (previously Esmertec Jbed)
- Dalvik Turbo virtual machineDalvik Turbo virtual machineDalvik Turbo is an alternative to Google's implementation of the Dalvik virtual machine that runs on the Android operating system and other platforms...