UTStarcom Holdings said it has acquired a significant minority stake in aioTV. With its purchase of 44 percent of aioTV’s stock, UTStarcom becomes the smaller company’s largest investor.

AioTV specializes in cloud-based video aggregation and distribution. The company has developed middleware that combines conditional access and content management tools, enabling network operators to aggregate multiple sources of content into a consistent experience across HTML5-based devices.

UTStarcom said it will look for opportunities to offer aioTV’s technology in Asia, where it has relationships with regional cable service providers and broadcasters.

In the long term, UTStarcom will also look for opportunities to jointly develop new service offerings with aioTV in collaboration with the company’s other strategic partners, such as iTV Media. UTStarcom is iTV’s largest investor; iTV announced in October it would work with aioTV.

UTStarcom will acquire seats on aioTV’s board of directors. AioTV’s management
team, led by CEO Michael Earle and COO Jim Anderson, will continue with the company.

“We see emerging markets as some of the most eager adopters of next-generation, Internet-delivered video services,” said Earle. “This strategic investment from UTStarcom gives us the platform to meet the shift in global video consumption and will accelerate our ability to deploy our technology in some of the fastest-growing markets in Asia.”