The idea of smart homes, or home devices connecting all electronics wirelessly, has taken huge strides in the tech industry as of late. Apple and Google have already begun their quests to take over the home, but now it seems Samsung is interested in entering the game as well. The Korean-based tech giant has been playing around with the idea of purchasing SmartThings for a summly $200 million.
SmartThings is a Washington D.C.-based startup that sells hardware that allows users to create a cloud in which hundreds of different smart gadgets can use to talk to one another. The device’s price is currently set at $100. The company owes its success to its prosperous Kickstarter campaign, which raised an approximate $1.2 million. It raised an additional $12.5 million through private investors, including Greylock Partners.
Samsung already produces a number of home appliances that are capable of talking to one another. What they hope to do with this purchase is allow third-party gadgets to be able to communicate faster and more efficiently with Samsung products. It is a very similar approach to what Apple plans to do with HomeKit, and another similar service called Revolv. What makes SmartThings unique is its community of 5,000 developers who work on how to make these smart devices interact.
SmartThings cofounder and CTO Jeff Hagins told Forbes, “Salesforce built this platform for developers because they honestly didn’t have the expertise and domain knowledge for every possible application. We looked at the smart home space and said exactly the same thing. We don’t have all the answers.” Still, they are trying to come up with them. One developer that was cited had programmed Sonos speakers to bark like a dog if movement was detected outside.
The deal has not been made official, and SmartThings has yet to make a comment. It is just further proof of the future of the smart home industry. According to Juniper Research, the smart home market will be worth an estimated $71 billion by 2018. Any tech giant who does not jump on board now will be kicking themselves for missing out in the future.
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