Samsung Acquires SmartThings, Wants to be Center of the Smart Home


SmartThings1Samsung Electronics, known for producing electronic products including memory chips, appliances, and mobile devices, is determined to get into your home; your smart home that is! By purchasing high-profile startup SmartThings, for an estimated $200 million, Samsung hopes to be the poster child for the Internet of Things (IoT) market. SmartThings, which was actually founded by a company called Physical Graph Corp. on Kickstarter in 2012, initially sought to create a tool for letting people monitor and control their connected gadgets with a single smartphone app and hardware hub. Today, its open platform already supports over 8,000 apps and 1,000 devices. Samsung won't be its only partner, however. The company has grown and added several partners since it started, including Belkin, Philips, and Sonos.

SmartThings2Smart home appliances, products, and other devices that talk to each other are being sought by companies across the entire tech sector. Examples of this include connecting an air conditioner that can be turned up and down via smartphone app, or an oven that can be preheated while the person is on the way home from work. SmartThings have particularly focused on smart connecting locks, lights, and other home devices with mobile apps. The company sells kits that include a basic router and small adhesive sensors that can attach to various objects in the home. The objects simply connect via Wi-Fi and can be controlled with the SmartThings iPhone or Android app.

SmartThingsBut SmartThings is far more just “things”. It's a platform. And it is clear that by the two units coming together, substantial benefits to each company will be gained. In the acquisition of SmartThings, Samsung can pair its resources with the company, boosting its very own innovation in the IoT. Additionally, with Samsung's massive global footprint, range of consumer appliances, and most importantly, access to retail channels, the new relationship will accelerate SmartThings vision to go really big.

SmartThings3SmartThings also made it clear that despite Samsung's purchase of the company, it will retain the brand, and maintain its open platform. It will also remain independently run by SmartThings chief executive Alex Hawkinson. Hawkinson says,with Samsung's resources and support, “the company will continue to work with many partners, rather than being tied particularly to Samsung products or technologies”. Most of its operations will be moved to Palo Alto, California to become part of Samsung's Open Innovation Center (OIC) there.

Topics: Technology News Apple Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations Samsung Smartphones & Mobile Devices

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