IoT platform Arrayent raises another $4M in Series C funding

The company will use the funding to expand into more brands, along with more analytics

The Internet of Things space is big, it is growing, and it won’t be long before it is part of nearly everyone’s lives. It is predicted that the market of Internet-connected devices will be worth $11.1 trillion by 2025. There are so many companies joining the fray and it can be overwhelming for consumers, and while these devices may bring value to users, they aren't truly useful until they work together.

The company that figures out how to help brand manufacturers to make their product compatible with one another will become a champion in driving adoption of IoT and helping it become mainstream. Arrayent is doing just that. The company helps device, appliance and other product companies develop and deliver connected products to a cloud platform called Arrayent Connect. This enables these brands to connect their products and systems to the Internet and allows devices to work together with the ecosystem that the consumer selects.

On Thursday, Arrayent announced that it has raised an additional $4 million in Series C funding from ORIX Ventures, adding to the initial $11 million it raised in September from DCM Ventures, Intel Capital, Opus Capital, Comerica Bank, and several angel investors.

With this $15 million round, Arrayent has now raised $28 million in venture funding. 

The Redwood City, California-based Arrayent offers a platform that includes an operating system Connect Cloud, which hosts virtualized devices, the digital copy of the physical device to which the mobile apps connect. It includes Connect Agent, which is Arrayent’s firmware that manages the endpoint product’s communication session with Connect Cloud.

Among Arrayent’s customers are some of the world’s most recognized brands, including Whirlpool, Pentair, Maytag, Commercial Laundry, Salus, OSRAM, Braeburn, Schumacher, Chamberlain and LiftMaster.. Cyril Brignone, CEO of Arrayent , explained that the company now has over 60 consumer products shipping on four different continents, making it the largest IoT consumer platform in the world., .

With this funding, Arrayent will be expanding the number of big brands using the platform, as well as continuing development of the product roadmap, which will include "additional analytic and IoT ecosystems compatibility," said Brignone.

"People don't want 25 apps for 25 products, so we will invest even more in ecosystem adapters to enable products from certain brands to be compatible with other brands," he said. "So if you have LIGHTIFY and you leave home with your light on, and then your NEST says you are away, it will turn off your home lights. We want to enrich those kinds of features."

The funding will also go toward expanding the sales team to target more big brands. Right now Arrayent has over 50 employees, and its sales team is split among Europe, China and North America. The company will be enhancing sales in those areas, though Brignone would not say how many it would be adding. 

"In the IoT space, we are different from many others, as we dedicate ourselves to consumer brands. Our customers are all well known, trusted brands. In the IoT landscape, some are industrial and some are consumer, but we are really dedicated to consumer manufacturers and trusted brands," Brignone told me.

"In four to five years we want to be the platform of choice for any brand to outsource their IoT solution. To be able to grab this market means it’s not us doing everything. We allow brands to launch quickly, on many third party ecosystems, so many people can customize and improve it. It's about being as open as possible as a platform."