The UK-based Autonomy has exercised an option to take over the consumer site Blinkx (Blinkx founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake"a former U.S. CTO of Autonomy"told Search Engine Watch in 2005 that Autonomy didnt have any equity in the search site, but was only providing the search technology behind the service).the site had about $10-12 million invested in it since it founded in 2003. With the takeover, Autonomy is spinning off its consumer division (the technology), merging it with Blinkx Inc (the video search site), renaming the two together as Blinkx, plc, and then will float them through an IPO on Londons AIM market in May. Autonomy plans to hold 10 percent of the demerged unit after the listing.

Suranga Chandratillake is to be the CEO of blinkx plc. He said he was excited to have access to such an advanced technology portfolio at a time when the ways people use and consume information of all types is changing both rapidly and radically. The development of television, for example, is at a pivotal moment - technologies such as IPTV, on-demand, non-linear, personalization and implicit query are expected to significantly change how consumers interact with content.

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