Unity to acquire Parsec for $320m

Unity has announced its plans to acquire remote desktop tool Parsec for $320m – its biggest acquisition to date. The deal is expected to close during Unity’s third quarter, ending September 30th.

Founded in 2016, Parsec allows for remote desktop access for developers and creatives. It was originally designed for streaming PC games to less powerful devices, though it was soon adapted for game developers. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Parsec became significantly more popular in this area as studios adapted to work from home. Parsec’s subscription business is growing by 170% year-on-year.

“We believe that, more and more, creators will need to be able to work anywhere,” said Unity Senior Vice President Marc Whitten to Techcrunch. “They’re going to work in groups that are dispersed by distance, or they’re going to be in a hybrid environment where they might be working in the office sometimes and at home sometimes.”

“I think that’s going to mean that those creators are going to need to have access to the power they need on the glass that they have, wherever they are,” he added. “And Parsec is a great example of a company that has just deeply innovated in that space.”

Additionally, during an earnings call following Unity’s latest financial results, CEO John Riccitiello said that Parsec was already being used by a lot of Unity staff members.

Parsec is just the latest in a series of acquisitions for Unity, who just recently acquired Interactive Data Visualization, Inc, the creators of SpeedTree.