Microsoft acquired Clipchamp, video creation and editing platform that operates through a browser. With functions designed mainly for those who are not professionally engaged in audiovisual production, this service could become the successor to Movie Maker.
A modern successor to the discontinued Microsoft’s Windows video editor
Microsoft Movie Maker was the answer given by Microsoft to create audiovisual material easily, without the need for advanced technical knowledge. When support for the program ended in 2017, it was not assigned a replacement since the application was discontinued.
Clipchamp’s clips, which can range from simple memes to full films, are tailored to the formats of the major social media platforms using the computer’s GPU, while complements the service’s work done from its servers. “As a web application that uses the full power of your PC, Clipchamp is a natural fit for extending cloud-based productivity experiences in Microsoft 365 for individuals, families, schools, and businesses,” noted Microsoft.
Outside of integrating as another platform in Microsoft’s family of digital services, Clipchamp could even make it into Windows 11. Outside of speculation, Chris Pratley, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Office media group, said the software “is a great fit for Microsoft Windows.”
In reporting Microsoft’s acquisition of Clipchamp, the app’s CEO, Alexander Drilling, commented that “startup founders go through different stages, from incorporating a business to hiring the first employees, to raising several rounds of funding, and finally they will try to exit through an acquisition or go public. And while an exit event is the end of a startup journey, it is also the beginning of a new journey. In our case that will be a journey under a Microsoft umbrella.”
The company once led by Bill Gates is turning its efforts toward the services sector. Satya Nadella, its CEO, commented on more than one past occasion that this focus is a long-term project.
This deal appears to be in line with Clipchamp’s vision for assisting “non-professionals and non-creatives, or simply, the other 98% of us,” according to Australian firm itself. “Within Microsoft, we can approach leveraging our opportunity in entirely new ways,” they added in the statement notifying of this acquisition.
