Yahoo has expanded its online video presence with the acquisition of RayV

Yahoo announced last week that it’s acquiring the Israel-based video streaming startup RayV for an undisclosed sum. The company will help Yahoo build on its video offerings, giving the company the technology it needs as it looks forward to video content for the future. The deal first made its way across the tech industry as a rumor back in May. The acquisition brings RayV aboard Yahoo’s Cloud Platform and Services division. The technology behind RayV is a “full end-to-end solution that enables improved high quality streaming for our online and mobile video content partners.” Most of the team will work out of the Yahoo Research and Development center in Tel Aviv. RayV launched in 2005, with a headquarters in Los Angeles, by Ofer Shem-Tov, Omer Luzzatti, and Ori Birnbaum.

Yahoo has acquired RayV, a video streaming startup, the two companies announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. RayV, which launched in 2005, develops software to stream HD quality video online and through mobile devices. The startup is based in Los Angeles, but with R&D operations in Tel Aviv. Most of its employees will be joining Yahoo’s R&D center in Israel. “At Yahoo, we are focused on building a video offering that delivers best-in-class quality and content, and can be streamed on-demand and live, on all platforms,” P.P.S. Narayan, VP of cloud platforms and services at Yahoo, wrote in a blog post announcing the deal. “The RayV team shares our passion for innovation and commitment to build a video infrastructure to deliver the ultimate video experience to our users.” Under CEO Marissa Mayer, Yahoo has worked to expand its video offerings by acquiring exclusive rights to shows like Community and hiring well-known media personalities like Katie Couric in order to boost engagement and advertising dollars. Rumors of Yahoo’s interest in RayV first surfaced in late May. The Internet giant has also been rumored to be interested in other video companies like Dailymotion, NDN and Fullscreen, but with little to show for it. There’s no word yet on whether RayV will continue to operate independently, but most of the dozens of startups Yahoo has acquired under Mayer’s leadership have been shut down.