The main aim from manufacturers in recent years has been to get their products talking and communicating with each other as well as the users to improve their performance. The Internet of Things has been growing in importance as can be evidenced by Samsung’s recent acquisition of SmartThings for an undisclosed. Sources estimate the deal to be close to US$200 million.
SmartThings, founded in 2012, is a company that delivers a smart home solution to end users with the help of a hardware hub and a smartphone application. The company already claims to have tens of thousands of installations which are also growing at a rate of 20 percent per month.
With Samsung manufacturing a range of products from home appliances to electronics that find their way into the end user’s life, the acquisition of SmartThings points at greater future interconnectivity for Samsung products.
The move also puts Samsung on even if not advantageous footing compared with competitors such as Apple, who released their Home Kit iOS sync device this year, and Google, who acquired Nest.
SmartThings will be relocating their offices from Washington D.C. to Samsung’s Open Innovation Center in Palo Alto. SmartThings will continue to work independently with its developer community and business partners at present.