Hubbell Inc. (NYSE: HUBB), a $3.5 billion lighting and electronics manufacturer, has acquired iDevices Inc., an emerging developer of residential IoT devices including Wi-Fi lighting and HomeKit-compatible products.
While Hubbell does offer some electrical products for the home, the 129-year-old company (not to be confused with IoT startup Hubble Connect) has mainly focused on lighting, electronics and power solutions for commercial, industrial and utility applications.
The acquisition will “lay the perfect groundwork for a partnership in IoT at a significant scale,” according to a statement released today.
For its part, iDevices started life in 2009 with the iGrill line of IoT-enabled cooking products. In 2016, iDevices sold that business to the big outdoor-grill company Weber to fund more development in the home automation sector.
According to a press release back then, “The iGrill acquisition will allow iDevices to focus even more heavily on becoming a leader in the home automation market.”
Specifically, iDevices went all-in with HomeKit, Apple’s nascent home-automation initiative, launching compatible light switches and dimmers, sockets, electrical outlets and a smart thermostat.
According to Crunchbase, iDevices has amassed more than $20 million in funding, starting in 2011 with $700,000 in venture capital. The latest rounds were both in 2014 with $4.25 million and $15 million.
UPDATE: In late 2015, iDevices CEO Chris Allen told the Hartford Courant (iDevices is located in Avon, Conn.) that the company needed to double revenues in the coming year to break even in 2016. The company increased employee headcount from 19 in 2014 to 63 in 2015, the paper reports.
He told the paper he did not want to raise more venture money, nor pursue an IPO.
The company boasted some 800,000 app downloads at the time.
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