Microsoft Finally Buys Xamarin

Microsoft Finally Buys Xamarin

Signaling that it really is serious about bringing third party developers to other mobile platforms, Microsoft this week announced that it will purchase Xamarin for an undisclosed sum. Xamarin lets developers target Windows, iOS and Android using the same C# program code.

“Microsoft announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Xamarin, the leading platform provider for mobile app development,” a Microsoft representative told me. “This is an important expansion of Microsoft’s tools and services to give developers more choice and flexibility for their apps on any device. With this acquisition, Microsoft will further empower developers to create exciting new apps and services that span the full spectrum of industries, geographies and scenarios – across iOS, Android and Windows. Further, Microsoft will enable Xamarin to reliably deliver their apps to more users with the power and scale of the Microsoft cloud.”

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I’ve been expecting Microsoft to buy Xamarin—and its predecessor, Ximian—along with its genius co-founder Miguel de Icaza since October 2003, when I witnessed Microsoft’s Don Box serenad de Icaza at Build. But more credible rumors about this acquisition date back about two years.

So this is big news, but there are many questions. We don’t know how Microsoft will integration Ximian’s tools into Visual Studio. Whether they will be free (given that Xamarin is currently very expensive). Or even how much Microsoft paid for Xamarin.

But here is what we do know.

Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Xamarin, a leading platform provider for mobile app development.

Xamarin has more than 15,000 customers in 120 countries, including more than one hundred Fortune 500 companies – and more than 1.3 million unique developers have taken advantage of their offering.

Top enterprises such as Alaska Airlines, Coca-Cola Bottling, Thermo Fisher, Honeywell and JetBlue use Xamarin, as do gaming companies like SuperGiant Games and Gummy Drop.

Microsoft will be taking Xamarin’s work “much further” to make its developer tools and services even better with deeper integration and seamless mobile app dev experiences.

We’ll learn more at Build in late March, Microsoft says.

 

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