The Periodic Table of IoT

The promise of connecting devices across homes, retail stores, automobiles, and physical machinery, otherwise referred to as the Internet of Things, has  emerged into what is now a substantial ecosystem of private companies, corporations, venture investors and acquirers.

So after putting out The Periodic Table of Tech and The Periodic Table of Healthcare, today we’re excited to introduce the Periodic Table of IoT (Internet of Things) – a guide to help make sense of the key players in the growing Internet of Things universe. The 141 companies, investors and acquirers on the list were drawn from analysis using CB Insights data around financial health, company momentum, investor quality and M&A activity.

See below for the table (click to expand)

We expect that this list of 141 will change over time as new entrants emerge and gain prominence and others falter, exit and/or get removed.  If you believe someone should be added, please leave a comment with your rationale.

Navigating the Periodic Table of IoT

The table focuses on seven different types of organizations as follows (from left to right).

• The left side of the Periodic Table of IoT includes companies across several sub-verticals that comprise IoT.  More details on these sub-areas of IoT are below.
• On the far right, the table shifts to venture capital firms (both multi-stage and micro VCs), corporate investors, angels, accelerators/incubators and crowdfunding platforms selected based primarily on total portfolio investments into IoT and recency of investment in the Internet of Things.
• The bottom section below is acquirers and notable IoT exits.

Because the Internet of Things is more of a theme than a single industry, it spans a wide variety of areas and companies who are attacking very different problems.  As a result, we broke the IoT companies down into several sub-areas as you’ll see on the Periodic Table.

Wearable Tech

Private wearable tech firms on the list include clothing or accessory companies that fuse sensor and other connected technologies in order to help track primarily health-related matters such calories burned, heart rate, steps taken, sleep and hearing but also more general use cases such as photos, email and GPS location.

Connected Home

Private connected home companies on the list offer connected software platforms and hardware for your home in functional areas ranging from security, temperature management and lighting.

Building Blocks & Platforms

Companies that help power, facilitate and/or create the IoT universe. This ranges from open-source IoT toolkits to embedded chip makers to DIY electronics.

Industrial Internet

A term credited to GE, this includes a subset of companies working to extend the capabilities of connected devices to physical machinery, industrial processes and workplaces. Many of the firms listed primarily operate in the drone and/or robotics spaces

Healthcare

Healthcare companies on the table span key remote patient monitoring or machine-to-machine products for the healthcare industry, specifically for use by physicians or home healthcare providers.

In-store Retail

Companies using sensor, beacon and WiFi technologies within the physical retail store in order to help better track and understand in-store customers.

Connected Car

Connected car companies on the table provide wireless technology and/or hardware to help drivers be alerted of details including traffic, accidents, alerts and speeding.

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Venture Capital Firms

Venture capital firms included make venture equity investments across the stage spectrum and geographies focusing on IoT opportunities. The VC firm category spans both micro VCs and large multi-stage firms with LP commitments ranging from $25M to well over $1B+.

Corporate Investors

Corporate investors in the Internet of Things include both corporations making direct investments and separately identifiable corporate venture units such as Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.

Angel Investors

IoT angel investors span both angel groups that bridge the gap between angel investment and institutional VC, providing either a managed fund or direct investment from angel group members as well as individual angel investors who offer early-stage capital, advice and networks to startups in exchange for equity or convertible debt.

Crowdfunding

Internet platforms for financing ventures or projects through contributions from the ‘crowd’, a larger group of people whose collective contributions help fund the project.  See our prior report on Kickstarter-funded hardware projects.

Accelerators/Incubators

Accelerators and startup incubators typically offer some combination of equity investment, mentorship and resources around company development. Those on the Internet of Things periodic table have either funded a number of IoT portfolio companies or have a specific focus on hardware i.e. R/GA TechStars and Lemnos Labs.

IoT Acquirers

Key public corporations that have acquired private IoT companies in the last two years.

Notable acquisitions

Key IoT companies that have been acquired already ranging from smart home companies (Nest, Dropcam, SmartThings) to wearable computing firms (Basis) to M2M application platforms (ThingWorx).

Again, if you think an investor or company should be added, please leave a comment below with your rationale.

Want to track the activity of these 141 key players of the IoT ecosystem and get alerts about new IoT companies? Check out the CB Insights Venture Capital Database. Sign up free below.