The Week in Review: IoT

Anniversaries
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and it kicked off the commemoration at CES 2018. The group now has more than 33,000 corporate members.

Products/Services
Samsung Electronics used the CES 2018 event to report on its progress in Internet of Things products and services. The company’s SmartThings technology now connects 370 certified devices from 40 brands. The Samsung SmartThings Cloud, the Bixby voice controls, connected-car technology, and 5G wireless communications will be at the center of Samsung’s IoT strategy.

Comcast will offer additional home-automation services to 15 million of its 29 million cable television and Internet service customers through its Xfinity XFi Internet gateways. The company will partner with a number of IoT firms, such as General Electric, Honeywell, Philips, and Tile.

Deals
Cisco Systems and Quanergy are collaborating on integrating Cisco’s networking technology with Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors and Qortex perception software for the Connected Roadway program, an element of smart city technology. Cisco and Quanergy this week demonstrated the technology at a busy intersection in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Finance
Nozomi Networks, which provides cybersecurity software for industrial control systems, raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Invenergy Future Fund. The startup has raised a total of $23.8 million in private funding. THI Investments and existing investors GGV Capital, Lux Capital, and Planven Investments also participated in the Series B round. Nozomi will use the money for global expansion of marketing, sales, and support, while also funding product development.

FieldIn, a data software service offering real-time management of agricultural pesticides, has received $4 million in private funding, led by Gal Ventures and Germin8 Ventures. Terra Ventures, an early investor, participated in the round, along with international angel investors and the Israel Innovation Authority. FieldIn will use the money to expand its global customer base and to enhance its dataset.

M&A
Ring has acquired Mr. Beams, a supplier of light-emitting diode lighting that has wireless connectivity and motion-sensing capabilities. Financial terms weren’t revealed. Mr. Beams will operate as an independent division within Ring.

Analysis
This analysis looks at the importance of location technology within the Internet of Things.

Startups
Paris-based NUMA is establishing an IoT startup accelerator program in Angers, France. NUMA Angers IoT is now accepting applications for a five-month program scheduled to start in April.