The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to make machines smarter, industrial processes more efficient and consumer devices more responsive to our needs. According to research firm Gartner, there will be more than 20 billion connected things in use worldwide by 2020.
But these constrained devices often run on woefully out-of-date software that must be manually patched and upgraded; the market potential is enormous, but so are the risks.
Figuring out successful IoT business models is still a work in progress, and many are trying. We’ve looked at a large sampling of companies that have formed to work on these problems and pared the list down to 10 that warrant special attention. (See how we did it.)
Collectively, the startups featured in this roundup have raised nearly $150 million in venture funding to chase IoT opportunities and tackle the risks. FogHorn Systems ($47.5M), Armis ($47M), and AlertMedia ($17M) have the deepest pockets. At the other end of the spectrum, the rest of the startups have locked down funding in the $3-11M range, enough to provide plenty of runway to get a product to market.
These hot startups offer everything from enterprise emergency notification systems to smart manufacturing platforms to “virtual chips” that add security to any connected device.
What they do: Mass-notification platform for the enterprise
CEO: Brian Cruver previously co-founded and CEO of Xenex, a company that develops germ-fighting robots that help hospitals prevent infections. Cruver also authored Anatomy of Greed, his firsthand account of Enron’s collapse.
Problem they solve: Large organizations face numerous threats to their people, assets and operations. When an incident occurs, the faster you can react, the more likely it is that you can minimize losses. Delayed awareness and slow response time can be costly in terms of production, profitability, reputation and the health and safety of employees.
Despite waves of automation elsewhere in the enterprise, emergency response is still a manual, reactive and often much-delayed process.
How they solve it: The AlertMedia platform connects enterprise sensor data, system data, location data and employee smart devices together to create a single multi-channel critical communication platform.
The AlertMedia platform collects signals from gauges, vehicles, GPS locators, etc., and converts those signals into meaningful 24/7 communications. AlertMedia minimizes disruption to the business while keeping employees safe and informed. AlertMedia helps its customers contend with a variety of emergency situations, such as severe weather, security threats, fires and power outages. But it also helps with more mundane emergencies too. For example, AlertMedia says that it is currently being used by a large restaurant chain to monitor temperatures in their refrigeration systems. When temperatures are outside a specified range, the system triggers notifications to the restaurant’s response team, preventing significant inventory losses.
Competitors include: Everbridge and OnSolve Customers include: AT&T, Volkswagen, DHL, Greyhound, Kawasaki, The Salvation Army, British Petroleum (BP), H-E-B Grocery Company, State of Texas and New York City
Why they’re a hot startup to watch: Unless you’re a global-warming denier, it’s clear that the market for emergency services will only rise in coming years. AltertMedia’s system, however, doesn’t just help during natural disasters. To return to the restaurant example, a power outage or a compressor failure that ruins enough inventory can be an equally crushing blow to a business’ bottom line.
AlertMedia says that it has 500+ enterprise customers located in 90+ countries around the world, including multinationals AT&T, BP and Volkswagen.
