Samsung snaps up SmartThings, embracing Internet of Things
Samsung snaps up SmartThings, embracing Internet of
Things
The tech giant acquires the open platform for smart home
devices to "improve the convenience and services in people's lives."
by Dara Kerr and Shara Tibken
August 14, 2014 4:28 PM PDT
Samsung is treading deeper into the Internet of Things
with the announcement Thursday that it has agreed to acquire SmartThings, an
open platform for smart home devices.
"This idea of connected homes or smart homes is
something Samsung has been thinking about for years," David Eun, head of
Samsung's Open Innovation Center, or OIC, told CNET. "It became obvious to
us [that] this idea of creating a really open platform and making it truly
global was absolutely what the industry needed."
The idea of the acquisition is to pair Samsung's
resources with SmartThings' platform so that the two can boost innovation in
the Internet of Things. Companies across the tech and home-appliances sector,
not to mention startups, are working on products that allow devices to talk to
each other and connect to the Internet. Smart appliances allow people to do
everything from turn on their air conditioners using a smartphone to remotely
close the window blinds in their homes.
Tech reviewers have lauded SmartThing's ease of use and
affordability, with CNET's Ry Crist recently calling it "one of the most
appealing smart-home offerings."
SmartThings, which launched as a Kickstarter project in
2012, initially sought to create a tool to let people monitor and control their
smart home devices with one mobile app. Since then, the company has grown and
added several new partners, like Belkin, Sonos, and Philips. Currently,
SmartThings' open platform supports more than 1,000 devices and 8,000 apps. It
works with operating systems such as Android and iOS, and SmartThings CEO Alex
Hawkinson said it will remain that way.
"A 100 percent requirement for me in this process
was we were going to stay all open," Hawkinson told CNET. "We're
retaining the brand, and our approach is all the same. ... We wouldn't have
moved forward if that was not the case."
Even though Samsung is buying the company, SmartThings
will remain independently run by Hawkinson. The company's headquarters will
move from Washington, D.C., to OIC's base in Palo Alto, Calif., and more than
half of SmartThing's 54 employees, plus Hawkinson, will head to California.
Eun said Samsung initially explored a partnership with
SmartThings but quickly decided it was better to buy the company outright. The
executives declined to provide terms of the deal but said it should close in
the coming days.
OIC, the group Eun runs, is a key part of Samsung's push
to expand in Silicon Valley and to build its software and services
capabilities. The group runs accelerators in New York and Palo Alto, Calif.,
makes investments in early-stage companies, partners with startups, and
acquires companies. Along with SmartThings, OIC also drove Samsung's
acquisition of DVR technology startup Boxee a year ago. The Internet of Things
is one of many focus areas for OIC.
The home is viewed by many as the next big battlefront
for tech companies. Apple in June announced at its Worldwide Developers
Conference in San Francisco that it has added functionality in its upcoming
release of iOS 8, through the HomeKit software platform, to integrate control
for door locking, light dimming, and other home automation gadgets and features
to iOS devices. And Google in January revealed plans to buy Nest Labs, the
maker of the Learning Thermostat and the Protect smoke and carbon monoxide
detector, for $3.2 billion in cash.
Samsung, which hopes to become the world's biggest home
appliances maker by 2015, has made a big push of its own into the Internet of
Things. The company in January unveiled a new foundation for the smart home
that would allow users to manage all of their appliance and devices through a
single application. Samsung and Nest also founded an Internet of Things
standards group in July.
Eun said SmartThings will be complementary to Samsung's
current efforts in smart home technology. Samsung Electronics, OIC's parent
company, will continue its research and development in Internet of Things
software, services, and devices, he said.
"The efforts we had before will absolutely continue
at Samsung, but there are great opportunities to strengthen SmartThings,"
he said.
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