Verizon Communications, Inc. recently announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Sensity Systems, Inc., a startup that helps businesses convert old lighting systems into connected LEDS so they can be remotely controlled.
This acquisition will fall into Verizon’s plan to add a leading comprehensive suite of smart city solutions enabled by its ThingSpace Internet of Things (IoT) platform, which aims to help communities increase economic development, drive citizen engagement and enable sustainability. Sensity Systems is an IoT solutions market leader that is known for building on smart communities with a strong ecosystem of partners. The transaction is expected to accelerate the deployment of large-scale implementations while further driving the development and the digital transformation of cities, universities and venue through its IoT initiatives.
Expanding on this opportunity, Sensity Chairman and CEO Hugh Martin states that in its uniting with Verizon, the company looks forward to “delivering IoT connected systems on a massive scale to change how cities and communities operate around the world.” Sensity enjoys a position as a leader in its space, having created what many consider a visionary smart city IoT platform, along with a powerful ecosystem of technology partners. These sort of IoT efforts present an opportunity to address a critically aging infrastructure that is rife with inefficiencies and the ever-increasing strain of demands.
“Verizon is uniquely positioned through its infrastructure investments at the network, platform and application levels to provide holistic solutions that empower communities to address their most pervasive challenges,” Mike Lanman, senior vice president – Enterprise Products and IoT at Verizon, said.
Is IoT the key out of this situation? Time will tell, but information and analytics have turned the tide in many situations and this is clearly an opportunity that Verizon could not resist.
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed and is not expected to close until the fourth quarter of 2016 as it is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Sensity had previously raised around $75 million from investors such as Cisco Systems and GE, along with VCs like Mohr Davidow, Almaz and Trinity, and boasts of customers that include the Westfield chain of shopping malls, the City of Chicago, not to mention about 42 smart city installations globally.
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