Intel (News 
- Alert) is acquiring Mashery, which specializes in API management platforms and services, according to news reports.
ReadWrite.com said news of the purchase was announced to Mashery’s (News - Alert) employees via e-mail on Wednesday.
The acquisition is likely to take place during Q2. A majority of the company’s 125 employees will be offered jobs after the deal is complete, ReadWite.com said based on company statements. It will become part of Intel’s services division.
The deal is important for the sector.
“The implications of the deal are huge: it signals Intel's recognition that the central processing unit is no longer a silicon chip. It is the network,” ReadWrite.com reported.
The deal is also significant for Intel because it shows how the company is becoming “both a hardware and a software company,” TechCrunch added.
“This latest move follows Project Rhino, which will optimize its own Hadoop distribution for its server chips,” TechCrunch reported. “The move is in line with Intel’s strategy to become more of a security software provider, as symbolized most in the acquisition of McAfee (News - Alert) Software for $7.7 billion in 2010.”
Also, Intel partnered with Mashery last year combining “Mashery's API-management tools with its own security offerings. By bringing Mashery in-house, Intel has a more complete and credible offering in cloud-computing infrastructure,” ReadWrite.com said.
In its history, Mashery raised $35 million from investors since 2006, which includes $10 million raised during 2012.
Last year, the company was valued at $60 million.
ReadWrite.com estimates that Intel paid two to three times the recent valuation for Mashery – somewhere between $120 million and $180 million. However, TechCrunch reported that the company is being acquired for more than $180 million.
Mashery has over 185,000 developers on its network, which is about 15 percent more than the number they had in July. Mashery has partnered with several companies beyond Intel. For example, SurveyMonkey launched its developer portal and new data APIs, and powered them through Mashery, TMCnet reported.
