Can you see me now? That may soon be the question on the lips of worker bees everywhere, argues Om Malik at GigaOmniMedia Inc. in writing about Google Inc.'s purchase of Marratech AB's video-conferencing software for an undisclosed amount. Malik credits Apple Inc. with putting cameras in its entire line of consumer products as a driver of video chat, and he says software from the likes of Skype Ltd. and SightSpeed Inc., as well as the increasing number of PC makers putting cameras in laptops, may help make video chat more common.
EBay Inc. already spent $4.1 billion to buy Skype. But SightSpeed, which raised at least $1.1 million in a second round of funding in 2006 and $700,000 in 2003, according to documents filed with the California Department of Corporations, also has some compelling video-conferencing software. If video chat ever approximates instant message in popularity, then an enterprise communications provider such as Cisco Systems Inc. or Avaya Inc. could pick off SightSpeed for less than a ten-digit price tag. —Stacey Higginbotham
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