LG Electronics has announced the acquisition of an 80% stake in Athom, a Dutch firm famend for its good residence platform, Homey. LG plans to accumulate the remaining 20% over the following three years. This transfer goals to reinforce LG’s ThinQ good residence platform, positioning it to raised compete with Samsung’s SmartThings, a number one participant within the good residence market.
Homey, established in 2014, helps over 50,000 good residence units from numerous manufacturers corresponding to Aqara, Honeywell, IKEA, Netatmo, Philips Hue, Samsung, and Sonos; It’s suitable with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Homey Professional, a central hub, helps a number of connectivity requirements together with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave Plus, Infrared, Matter, and Thread.
Homey is favored by customers in search of privateness and in depth customization choices by way of options like Superior Circulation and HomeyScript.
Following the acquisition, LG plans to combine Homey’s capabilities into its ThinQ good residence home equipment and app — Current Homey customers will quickly be capable to handle LG ThinQ-compatible units by way of the Homey app. Regardless of the acquisition, Athom will keep its impartial operations, branding, and crew, with its founders persevering with as executives to uphold their imaginative and prescient for an improved good residence expertise.
Whereas the precise monetary particulars of the deal weren’t disclosed, the Korea Financial Every day estimates the acquisition at round KRW 85 billion (roughly $61 million). This strategic acquisition mirrors Samsung’s 2014 buy of SmartThings for $200 million, which has since been built-in into Samsung’s product lineup, together with fridges, soundbars, and TVs.
This acquisition represents LG’s dedication to increasing its good residence ecosystem and providing enhanced compatibility with third-party units. The mixing of Homey is predicted to bolster ThinQ’s competitiveness in opposition to established platforms like SmartThings, offering customers with a extra complete and customizable good residence expertise.
Filed in . Learn extra about AI (Artificial Intelligence), LG and Samsung.
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