IoT (Internet of Things) refers to billions of physical devices in the world that are connected to the internet, collect, and share data. Currently, the emphasis of IoT is on capturing our homes and offices with the evolution of smart devices.
As per tech analyst Gartner, over half the new businesses will run on IoT in the near future. It is belived that the enterprise and automotive sectors will have over 5.8 billion IoT devices. This category is wide comprising smart metres, web cameras, connected lighting, etc.
IoT has become one of the emerging business trends as it delivers agility and efficiency. It operates with the idea that enterprises should have access to data about their products and internal systems. Eventually, component makers are adding sensors that can transmit data to show how the products are performing.
Given that IoT is the next big trend in the business ecosystem, here we have cherry-picked 10 promising IoT startups in Europe.
Hiber (Netherlands)
Founders: Coen Janssen, Erik Wienk, Ernst Peter Hovinga, Laurens Groenendijk, Maarten Engelen
Funding: €7.1 million
Founded year: 2016
Why its hot: Hiber, which was formerly called Magnitude Space is a space startup. It was founded by a team of satellite experts and entrepreneurs called Hibernauts. They work with the ambition to launch and run a nano-satellite constellation in space to provide affordable and global connectivity for the IoT devices. Back in November last year, Hiber was considered the first commercial satellite company in the Netherlands as it launched its first two nano-satellites into orbit.
Silvair (Poland)
Founders: Rafal Han, Szymon Slupik
Funding: €15.3 million
Founded year: 2013
Why its hot: Silvair is a rapidly growing company that develops innovative IoT technologies for the smart lighting industry. The company provides advanced software solutions for commercial building automation and wireless lighting control. Silvair developed the first Bluetooth mesh stack and aims to be the world’s leading wireless solutions provider for professional lighting applications.
Talkin’ Things (Poland)
Founder: Marcin Pilarz
Funding: €3.3 million
Founded year: 2013
Why its hot: Polish startup Talkin’ Things makes products smart and enables businesses to engage consumers, protect products, and control processes in the supply chain. It produces and supplies the latest NFC products and IoT solutions that empower a one-top-shop ecosystem for connected things. The company delivers smarter and extensive in-house custom solutions for various applications and is used by industries such as automotive, retail, logistics, etc. Headquartered in Warsaw, Talkin’ Things also has an office in Las Vegas.
Minut (Sweden)
Founders: Fredrik Ahlberg, Marcus Ljungblad, Martin Loof, Nils Mattisson
Funding: €10.2 million
Founded year: 2014
Why its hot: Minut, a Swedish IoT startup has developed a camera-less smart home security device. It is touted to be better than its rivals when it comes to protecting its users’ privacy. Dubbed Point, the wireless smart home alarm monitors your home without any invasive cameras. It uses humidity and temperature tracking, motion detection, and noise monitoring to send instant mobile alerts if there is an unusual occurrence at your home.
Sentryo (France)
Founders: Laurent Hausermann, Thierry Rouquet
Funding: €14 million
Founded year: 2014
Why its hot: The French IoT startup was acquired by Cisco Systems in mid-2019. After the acquisition, Sentryo’s platform was acquired to be merged with Cisco’s intent-based network architecture that lets customers experience IoT benefits, manage networks, enable collaboration across OT and IT departments, and better protect assets and data. Prior to its acquisition, Sentryo develops and provides cybersecurity and situation awareness solutions for the industrial networks and IoT.
Kinéis (France)
CEO: Alexandre Tisserant
Funding: €100 million
Founded year: 2018
Why its hot: Kinéis is an emerging spacetech startup, which intends to lead innovation in global connectivity for IoT. This French startup works in close collaboration with terrestrial IoT operators, connected object manufacturers, and current satellite operators. This way, it intends to locate and collect data in all conditions from across the world. Recently, it raised €100 million funding that will be used to finance the launch of a constellation of nanosatellites dedicated to the IoT domain.
Ubirch (Germany)
Founders: Markus Breuer, Matthias Jugel, Michael Merz, Stephan Noller
Funding: €2.8 million
Founded year: 2014
Why its hot: Ubirch develops a blockchain technology that is designed to capture information from the IoT sensor. With the Blockchain for Things, the startup offers a stack to make IoT a part of blockchain. Ubirch is designed to make sure the IoT data is secure and trustworthy. It keeps a track of the IoT devices’ identity, checks the integrity incoming data, and more.
Tibber (Sweden)
Founders: Daniel Lindén Edgeir Aksnes
Funding: €28.1 million
Founded year: 2016
Why its hot: Tibber, an energy startup based in Stockholm is on a mission to change the way we buy and consume electricity. The company lets consumers lower the energy bills with the help of a single app. It shows that the power purchased for is done automatically by its bots. Tibber has a highly unique technology where smart algorithms buy electricity for you automatically.
Vimcar (Germany)
Founders: Andreas Schneider, Christian Siewek, Lukas Weber
Funding: €17 million
Founded year: 2014
Why its hot: Vimcar resuscitates fleet management for the corporate world by integrating commercial vehicles into the digital environment in an immaculate manner. The platform offers cloud-based cross-functional applications connecting drivers and fleet managers. The real-time statistics of vehicular activity and location is updated through the GPS-enabled retrofit plug. Already, Vimcar has connected over 50,000 cars for customers including Allianz, Zalando, Deutsche Bahn, Ford and Adecco, etc.
KIWI (Germany)
Founders: Christian Bogatu, Claudia Nagel, Peter Dietrich
Funding: €4 million
Founded year: 2012
Why its hot: KIWI provides secure and hands-free access to large multi-tenant buildings since 2012. The entrance door unlocks comfortably without any keys or buttons with its IoT solution. It’s Ki transponder or mobile app will let users enjoy safety and convenience to a great extent.
Main image picture credits: Hiber
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