While still the gold standard for benchmarking – receiving a new benchmark result every four seconds on average -the company has hit a new chapter as last night it announced it has been acquired by UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a 120 year-old Illinois-based safety science company that has played a role in the public adoption of electricity and the drafting of safety standards for electrical devices and components, according to Wikipedia. Today they still provide certification, testing, inspection, advisory and education services to guide professionals and regulators.
“This acquisition provides us with an opportunity to build a new business line in testing a wide variety of technological devices so they offer the performance, safety and privacy that consumers expect,” says Stephen Kirk, VP and GM of UL Consumer Technology Division.
Futuremark’s 39 employees, including CEO Jukka Mäkinen, will join UL and remain with the company.
“In recent years, we’ve expanded on to new platforms, our software has been adopted by the European Commission and national governments, and we’ve welcomed more of the world’s leading technology companies into our Benchmark Development Program,” says Mäkinen in a statement. “We’ve accomplished a lot on our own, but with UL, we’re in an even better position to achieve our goals.”