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Symbian Foundation saved by €22 million EU injection

New consortium Symbeose formed as a result

Symbian Foundation saved by €22 million EU injection
Proclaiming it as an organisation vital for the future of Euro-centric mobile development, the EU has reportedly invested €22 million in the struggling Symbian Foundation.

At the end of October it came to light that the non profit body was in financial trouble, with former backers such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson withdrawing support for the OS.

In the midst of the troubles, executive director Lee Williams resigned from his position at the after two years' service, with his replacement – former CFO Tim Holbrow – reportedly having to draw up redundancy packages for employees.

However, the Foundation has since announced that the European Commission – the EU's executive body – is set to stump up €22 million to preserve Symbian's open approach, folding the body into a 23-strong new consortium, dubbed Symbeose.

The funding will be used to fuel development of future versions of the OS, with Symbeose as a whole charged with making the platform more interesting to stakeholders.

[source: MobileGamesBlog]

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