Where is Internet of Things going?
Lee la versión en español aquí.
2008 marked the year of great technology advancement, where internet connected things actually surpassed the population of earth. Today we are living in a world where everything has been upgraded substantially. Everything is now built with smart integrated technology such as; Smartphones, Smart TVs, Smartwatches, Smart cars, just to name a few.
Internet of Things is the latest buzz in the world of technology. We defied the impossible and invented things our ancestors believed were unachievable. Technology is now big part of our lifestyle and has transform the way we live and work.
Internet of Things is the term used to reference everyday appliances and devices connected to the internet. An example in layman’s terms, is the ability of streaming online through connected devices, such as Apple TV and Roku, making it easier to binge-watch Netflix’s Orange is the new Black and eliminate the clutter of dvd collections. But that’s just the beginning, it’s now possible to have a smart home (comparable to Tony Stark’s home in Iron man), where coffee machines, lights, fridges, trash cans and even your pets can be a part of IoT.
Both mobile phones and IoT have revolutionized the way people interact, consume, produce and live. IoT progress is incredible, leaping way further into the future than the technology of smartphones by making everything smart and connecting the unconnected. That’s why it’s predicted that by 2020 there will be 100 times more connected devices than personal computers.
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I invite you to see this presentation about the 2015 trends made by Hax. In these slides you will see the increase of money invested by VCs in IoT projects, on seed rounds and how early stage support for IoT and Hardware startups are becoming increasingly widespread. Prototyping and educational platforms, like Raspberry Pi’s sales are growing exponentially. Makerspaces, Accelerators, Hackerspaces and Tech Shops are opening all around the world.
YC, the number one accelerator in the world has created a partnership with Bolt to be able to respond to this demand and support IoT startups. We could say that for hardware startups, it’s getting less hard, no pun intended.
The major industry players are thinking about IoT as well: IBM spent $3 billion on the ‘Internet of Things’ unit, Cisco Investments has 80 active investments in IoT companies and has committed to invest more than $300 million over the next few years to expand their portfolio. Google announced Brillo OS and Weave protocol for the Internet of Things, plus unveils Project Soli & Project Jacquard, two of the most innovative IoT projects I’ve seen so far.
At Wolox we worked with 6 IoT startups, 5 of them were accelerated by Hax and 4 have received another kind of funding.It was 8 months ago we started a new business unit dedicated to IoT. Arguably, we have an expertize that is lacking in Argentina.
Lately, we have been looking at a great phenomenon at Buenos Aires as well. Some of the success stories include Bluesmart that raised more than USD 2 million in Indiegogo last year, GiBike that received USD 1 million from Incutex a couple of months ago and Syrmo that was accelerated by Hax and raised USD 150K from SOS Ventures.
Also, in 2015 we had the first IoT contest led by GCBA, the 1st meetup conference in ITBA and the 1st themed Startup Weekend Hackathon, of course about IoT.
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The question remaining: where is IoT going? What will be the next “killer” IoT device? My personal thoughts about this is that IoT has the power to make a real revolution in some fields like Precision Agriculture or Energy Consumption, but something even bigger could be possible if we change the way people consume.
IoT (and other technologies like bitcoins) could be the answer to planned obsolescence. Imagine if you could start making money by innovative business models and change the way many things are consumed. If you put sensors on everyday objects, you could start charging people for the exact time of use and not for the object itself. Even companies could start thinking about manufacturing for durable objects.
If you want to know more about creating an IoT startup, I recommend you to read a great article wrote by Bolt, one of the best guides for Internet of Things written so far.
Posted by Luciana Reznik (luciana.reznik@wolox.com.ar)
