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Google buys Neverware, whose software turns old PCs into Chromebooks
Google LLC has quietly acquired a company called Neverware Inc. that sells software to transform old personal computers and Macs into Chromebook devices.
The acquisition was announced today by Neverware on Twitter, and Google later confirmed the news in a statement. Google had taken part in the company’s Series B funding round three years ago.
Neverware’s software is called CloudReady OS, and though it’s primarily aimed at schools and enterprises that want to transform fleets of machines into Chromebooks, there’s also a free Home edition that anyone can use.
Exciting news to share: Neverware & CloudReady are now officially part of Google and the Chrome OS team! We’re looking forward to sharing more details with CloudReady customers, users, and fans in the coming weeks, but for now, click here for more info: https://t.co/ZBkH2IFVsZ
— Neverware (@neverware) December 14, 2020
CloudReady OS is a full-fledged computer operating system that’s based on Google’s Chromium. As the company says, it’s designed to run on older hardware such as Windows PCs that no longer receive any official updates and security patches.
Such a solution could be ideal for schools and businesses that have aging computers but lack the budget to replace them easily. With CloudReady, those machines can suddenly become a lot faster and more productive, and they won’t be at risk of malware and other nasty surprises.
Google’s plan is to make CloudReady an official product. “We can confirm that the Neverware team is joining the Google Chrome OS team,” Google said in a statement. “Following our partnership over the past few years, we’re looking forward to working more closely with the team to support more customers in their transition to deploy Chrome OS.”
Neverware said in an FAQ that there won’t be any changes to the free Home Edition or its support policies at this time. It said CloudReady will “continue to be available as-is, and we’re committed to supporting and maintaining existing customers.”
CloudReady users should see some benefits arriving soon. Though CloudReady OS is based on Chromium, one of its downsides is that it can’t access the Google Play Store, which means Android apps can’t run on it. The acquisition makes it likely that some sort of support will soon arrive.
Image: Neverware
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