We mapped the 9 main categories driving the future of the Internet of Things. IoT startups are targeting the Industrial Internet of Things and major spaces like healthcare.
Internet of Things startups have attracted over $7.4B in cumulative investment over 887 deals since 2010. From auto and healthcare, to insurance and heavy industry, the IoT is weaving together connected devices and objects to transform how whole industries work.
We used CB Insights data to identify 100 private companies and mapped them according to their area of focus in the graphic shown below. The IoT startups included are developing sensors, wearables, IoT infrastructure, drones, data platforms, as well as connected home objects.
Note: click graphic to enlarge.
Wearables
A category of wrist, body, and head-mounted devices that we have previously looked into. Most of the companies in this subset of IoT are makers of consumer fitness bands and smart watches. Other products in this area include more specialized infant wearables (Owlet and Sproutling), smart apparel made by Lumo and OMsignal, as well as advanced biometric sensors like Thync‘s mood-elevating head-mounted wearable.
Connected Home
The connected home category encompasses everyday devices such as August and Lockitron‘s connected door locks, and Ring‘s doorbell system.
Infrastructure and Sensors
Companies here are are building out the networks and developing physical sensors that will undergird the Internet of Things. mCube and Valencell are sensor developers, and Ineda Systems makes SoCs (systems-on-a-chip) for IoT and wearable applications. Jasper and Arrayent provide cloud-based platforms for storing and harnessing the data from connected networks.
Healthcare
IoT startups in the healthcare space range from consumer-friendly tech like Kinsa‘s smart thermometer, all the way to clinical-grade sensors such as Quanttus‘ wearable patient monitor.
Smart Utilities & Energy
Startups in this map area develop tech that enables more efficient use of water and electricity. Rachio and Banyan Water, for instance, make systems for water and irrigation usage. Companies like Enlighted use connected hardware for optimizing electricity and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) usage.
Industrial IoT (IIoT)
A fast-growing subspace of the IoT, the industrial IoT aims to create networks that are tailored to asset-heavy industries such as manufacturing, logistics, mining, and agriculture. Tachyus and GroundMetrics, for example, make sensor systems for the oil and gas industry. Similarly, Worldsensing and Eigen Innovations offer data solutions tailored to heavy industry.
UAV / Drone
As they grow increasingly autonomous, drones will provide new and complementary sources of data to IoT-powered systems. Skycatch, for example, employs UAVs to capture data for the rendering of construction sites in 3D. Consumer drones like those manufactured by DJI Innovations, 3D Robotics, and Yuneec were also well-represented.
Connected Car
The connected car category is a large space in its own right that we’ve detailed in greater depth, but notable startups like Metromile are using the IoT to transform car insurance by creating a new type of “per-mile” usage-based insurance premium. Other companies like Zubie and Automatic market devices that capture data and allow drivers to track and improve driving habits along with APIs for third-party services built on top of the device and software.
Retail Tech
Startups here are using connected devices to improve the retail experience. Estimote and Cloudtags use connected sensors and mobile apps for a more interactive shopping experience. Theatro makes an enterprise wearable for retail and hospitality workers. And Momentum Machines is developing robots to automate food production.
See the full company list below:
| Company | Select Investors | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Jawbone | Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Wearables |
| Athos Works | Social Capital, True Ventures | Wearables |
| MisFit | Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, GGV Capital | Wearables |
| Withings | Ventech, 360 Capital Partners | Wearables |
| Motiv | Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Wearables |
| Polyera | Solvay Group, Chengwei Capital, Tsing Capital | Wearables |
| Sproutling | First Round Capital, Shawn Fanning | Wearables |
| Olio | New Enterprise Associates, Serra Ventures | Wearables |
| Owlet | ff Venture Capital, Peak Capital, TechStars | Wearables |
| Narrative | Khosla Ventures, Passion Capital, True Ventures | Wearables |
| Lumo | Innovation Endeavors, Madrona Venture Group | Wearables |
| Thalmic Labs | Spark Capital, Intel Capital, First Round Capital, Y Combinator | Wearables |
| Ringly | Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, High Line Venture Partners | Wearables |
| Thync | Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures | Wearables |
| OMsignal | Bessemer Venture Partners | Wearables |
| Pebble | CRV, Y Combinator | Wearables |
| Simplisafe | Sequoia Capital | Connected Home |
| Ring | True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, First Round Capital, CRV | Connected Home |
| Canary | Two Sigma Ventures, Khosla Ventures | Connected Home |
| Electric Objects | First Round Capital, RRE Ventures, SV Angel | Connected Home |
| Lockitron | Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator | Connected Home |
| Orange Chef | Alexa Fund, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, New Enterprise Associates | Connected Home |
| August | Bessemer Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures | Connected Home |
| Beddit | Inventure | Connected Home |
| ivee | Foundry Group | Connected Home |
| iControl | Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, CRV, Cisco Investments | Connected Home |
| IFTTT | Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, New Enterprise Associates | Connected Home |
| Peel Technologies | Harrison Metal, Alibaba Group | Connected Home |
| Mark One | Intel Capital, Felicis Ventures | Connected Home |
| Sonos | Index Ventures, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co | Connected Home |
| Scout Security | Alexa Fund | Connected Home |
| Notion | Foundry Group | Connected Home |
| Sentri | Microsoft Ventures | Connected Home |
| Arrayent | DCM Ventures, Intel Capital | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Ayla Networks | Cisco Investments | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Jasper Technologies | Benchmark Capital, Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Ineda Systems | Qualcomm Ventures | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| mCube | DAG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Helium Systems | Khosla Ventures, Slow Ventures, SV Angel, Marc Benioff | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Electric Imp | Redpoint Ventures, Foxconn Technology Company | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| SigFox | Samsung Ventures | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Kaazing | Columbus Nova Technology Partners, New Enterprise Associates | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Samsara | Andreessen Horowitz | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Valencell | Best Buy Capital, True Ventures | IoT Infrastructure & Sensors |
| Quanttus | Khosla Ventures, Matrix Partners | Healthcare |
| Kinsa | FirstMark Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Healthcare |
| Airstrip Technologies | Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital | Healthcare |
| Augmedix | DCM Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Rock Health | Healthcare |
| Proteus Digital Health | Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Essex Woodlands, Oracle | Healthcare |
| Corventis | DAG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Healthcare |
| AliveCor | Qualcomm Ventures | Healthcare |
| Eyesmart Technologies | Intel Capital | Healthcare |
| Cellscope | Khosla Ventures | Healthcare |
| Orcam Technologies | Intel Capital | Healthcare |
| Senseonics | Delphi Ventures, HealthCare Ventures | Healthcare |
| PlotWatt | Felicis Ventures, Morehead Capital | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Sensity Systems | Cisco Investments, GE Ventures, Simon Venture Group | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Enlighted | Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| LIFX | Blackbird Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Max Levchin, Naval Ravikant | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Rachio | Alexa Fund | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Banyan Water | Catamount Ventures, Cue Ball Capital | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Kitu Systems | Granite Ventures | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| View | Corning, Khosla Ventures, GE Healthcare | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Grid Net | Cisco Investments, Intel Capital | Smart Utilities & Energy |
| Tachyus | Founders Fund | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| APX Labs | New Enterprise Associates, Salesforce Ventures | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Wearable Intelligence | Lightspeed Venture Partners, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| GroundMetrics | Crescent Ridge Partners Ventures, Tech Coast Angels | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Eigen Innovations | BDC Venture Capital | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Xerafy | IPV Capital | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Worldsensing | Cisco Investments, Endeavor Global | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Meshify | SURGE Ventures | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| Bit Stew Systems | BDC Venture Capital, Cisco Investments, GE Ventures | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| SmartCloud | Rockwell Automation | Industrial IoT (IIoT) |
| OpenROV | True Ventures, SK Ventures | UAV / Drone |
| DJI Innovations | Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital | UAV / Drone |
| CyPhy Works | General Catalyst Partners, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital | UAV / Drone |
| 3D Robotics | O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, True Ventures, Foundry Group | UAV / Drone |
| Skycatch | ff Venture Capital, Avalon Ventures | UAV / Drone |
| Lily | High Line Venture Partners, SV Angel | UAV / Drone |
| Skydio | Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz | UAV / Drone |
| Yuneec | Intel Capital | UAV / Drone |
| Airware | First Round Capital, Andreessen Horowitz | UAV / Drone |
| Cloudtags | Foundry Group, Hallett Capital | Retail |
| Momentum Machines | Khosla Ventures, K5 Ventures | Retail |
| Theatro | Khosla Ventures | Retail |
| Estimote | Bessemer Venture Partners, Innovation Endeavors | Retail |
| Dragon Innovation | Alexa Fund, BoxGroup, Flybridge Capital Partners, Foundry Group | Retail |
| Impinj | AllianceBernstein, ARCH Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group | Retail |
| Placemeter | Collaborative Fund, New Enterprise Associates, Qualcomm Ventures | Retail |
| Inrix | Porsche Automobil Holding, August Capital, Venrock | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Cloudcar | DCM Ventures, Passport Capital | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Cohda Wireless | Cisco Investments and NXP Semiconductors | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Peloton Technology | Intel Capital, Lockheed Martin, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, Volvo Group Venture Capital | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Censio | Bain Capital Ventures, General Catalyst Partners | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Automatic Labs | Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Comcast Ventures | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Veniam | Cane Investments, True Ventures, Union Square Ventures | Connected Car & Fleet |
| Zubie | Castrol innoVentures, Nokia Growth Partners | Connected Car & Fleet |
| SmartDrive Systems | New Enterprise Associates, Oak Investment Partners | Connected Car & Fleet |
| MetroMile | Felicis Ventures, Index Ventures, New Enterprise Associates | Connected Car & Fleet |
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