SAN JOSE, Calif. – May 18, 2010 – Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held MOTO Development Group, a design consulting firm that develops products and product strategies for the consumer industry. Based in San Francisco, MOTO's talent base will complement Cisco's and enable Cisco to rapidly enhance its consumer product development road map.
"Consumers have embraced our Flip VideoTM, ValetTM and Linksys® product lines because they deliver on the promise of making video and home networking simple, affordable and fun," said Jonathan Kaplan, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco® Consumer Products. "MOTO's design and engineering teams have deep consumer expertise that will accelerate our ability to continue to deliver great products and expand Cisco's consumer business."
MOTO brings to Cisco an accomplished team of more than 35 consultants with a proven track record in the consumer product industry. The MOTO team has been instrumental in the development of innovative products from startups to Fortune 500 companies, including Cisco's industry-leading Flip video product family. MOTO's multidisciplinary team drives innovation across the product life cycle to create engaging products and consumer experiences.
MOTO's philosophy directly aligns with Cisco's consumer strategy to use devices, software and the network to deliver transformational product experiences that delight consumers. As the consumer market evolves, Cisco will continue to focus on helping people live a connected life that is more personal, more social and more visual. Like the acquisition of Pure Digital in 2009, the acquisition of MOTO is another step toward embedding consumer design and ease of use into Cisco products for the consumer market.
Financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2010. Upon the closing of the acquisition, MOTO employees will become part of the Cisco Consumer Products team led by Kaplan.
