Google has acquired Omnisio, an online video technology start-up, reportedly for $15m.

The company specialises in video annotations, something that Google's YouTube already offers in a limited capacity. Omnisio also allows video clips to be combined from various sources and to be synchronised with Slideshare presentations.

Omnisio's stance is that, so far, video on the web has merely attempted to recreate a passive TV-like experience, whereas its founders – Ryan Junee, Julian Frumar and Simon Ratner – believe that web video should be a more interactive experience.

Google has said the acquisition will enable it to expand on the functionality of YouTube.

Industry analysts speculate that the acquisition was motivated more by Google's need for fresh web-video talent than for the technology Omnisio has developed to date.