Nokia Sells Qt To Digia: iOS, Android And Windows 8 Ports Promised

Nokia has sold off its Qt software business to Digia, washing its hands of the ecosystem as it renews its focus on Windows Phone. The deal – financial terms of which have not been released – will see Digia take on all of the Qt-related duties Nokia had until now been responsible for, including the development of the programming language, commercial deployment, and open-source licensing and servicing. Although some may rue Nokia's abandonment, Digia does at least have big plans for Qt, including enabling it on Android, iOS and Windows 8 platforms.

Digia had already acquired the commercial licensing business from Nokia, back in March 2011. Now, the company says it intends to pump cash into Qt R&D, relying on cross-platform ubiquity to encourage developers to jump onboard.

Up to 125 from the Nokia Qt team will transfer to Digia, with most of those based in Oslo or Berlin; Nokia had already laid off the Australian Qt team earlier this month, amid rumors of an asset sale.

"Nokia is proud of the contributions we've made to Qt over the past four years" Sebastian Nyström, head of Nokia Strategy, said today in a statement. "We are pleased that we've been able to work with Digia to secure continued development of Qt by the current core team. Digia's plans to acquire Qt mean that it can continue as a successful open source project and also offer continuing employment for many people in the community."

Timescales for bringing Qt apps to Windows 8, Android and iOS devices have not been disclosed, though Digia says it expects consistent growth and a "positive" impact from the acquisition on 2012 revenues, implying some degree of speed. The new home for Qt will now be at here, while the developer network is here.