Google acquires Cameyo to bring Windows apps to ChromeOS
Google has acquired Cameyo, a company developing virtualization tools to run Windows apps on ChromeOS devices, for an undisclosed amount.
In a blog post, Cameyo CEO Andrew Miller and Google product lead Naveen Viswanatha wrote that the buy will benefit ChromeOS, Google’s lightweight Linux-based operating system, by giving ChromeOS users greater access to Windows apps “without the hassle of complex installations or updates.”
“By combining the power of ChromeOS with Cameyo’s innovative virtual application delivery technology, we are empowering businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure while preserving their investments in existing software,” Miller and Viswanatha wrote.
Cameyo CTO Eyal Dotan founded the startup in 2018, aiming to create a platform to virtualize Windows apps so that they could run on non-Windows machines and even within web browsers. Cameyo’s approach works by packaging an app, inclusive of its dependencies, in an standalone, self-contained executable that also has a virtualization engine to run on a range of operating systems.
Last year, perhaps foreshadowing the acquisition, Google partnered with Cameyo to launch features including Windows app local file system integration and the ability to deliver virtual Windows apps as progressive web apps, or apps hosted in datacenters that run in browsers.
