Another tech giant making a $200m move into the connected home?
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
By Tess Nacelewicz
Updated Tue July 22, 2014
I've written recently about Google's $3.2 billion buy of smart thermostat and smoke alarm maker Nest Labs, and then Nest's $555 million plan to buy Dropcam, which makes video cameras that stream video to a user's computer or cellphone. Also, Apple in June introduced HomeKit, its new home automation/home security framework.
Now, Samsung also may be making a home automation push with a $200 million buy of startup SmartThings, according to news reports.
The potential deal was first reported in TechCrunch.
Forbes says that SmartThings is based in Washington, D.C. and “sells $100 hardware hubs and provides a cloud platform to make the hundreds of smart gadgets out on the market talk to each other in one unified app.”
Forbes notes that Samsung “already has many connected home appliances on the market.” However, Forbes says SmartThings could enhance those.
“What the SmartThings technology could do is better connect its appliances to other third-party devices onto one central platform. This is what Apple looks to be aiming to do with its HomeKit and what Nest may one day achieve after opening up its API program to allow other devices to talk to its growing family of smart gadgets.”
SmartThings, founded in 2012, has “tens of thousands” of SmartThings systems currently installed in U.S. households, Forbes said.
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