Dell’s VC arm backs industrial edge software maker IOTech’s expansion to North America

2023/09/05 Innoverview Read

You may not have heard of IOTech — yet.

But that’s changing if Dell Technologies Capital has anything to say about it. The venture capital arm of the iconic PC brand has invested a new, undisclosed sum in IOTech, a U.K.-based firm that makes open-source software solutions for industrial edge devices. With the money, IOTech is targeting a major expansion of its business in the U.S. and North America.

Think of all the sensors that the operator of a manufacturing plant might want to stick around their equipment to ensure it is running smoothly. Or the operator of a solar farm, who wants to know which cells are not performing well. Or the landlord of a building seeking to boost its environmental efficiency ratings. IOTech’s software is designed to work for all these types of use cases where physical capital can be monitored best by sensors at the “edge” feeding data about performance, state and conditions back into the cloud for decision-makers to review and act upon.

This is what gives IOTech the “IOT” of its name: the Internet of Things — in this case, industrial things. Real-world devices equipped with sensors and analyzed using intelligent software.

British IOT invasion?

The company already has a star-studded client list, including Accenture, EATON, Fluence Energy, Johnson Controls, King Steel and Schneider Electric.

While IOTech has to date built up most of its clientele in Europe and the Asia/Pacific region, the new funding round from Dell Technologies Capital — following its 2018 seed investment, according to Crunchbase — seeks to empower the company to make a bigger impact across the pond.

Existing stakeholders, including SPDG — the holding company of the Périer-D’Ieteren family — Northstar Ventures and the Scottish Investment Bank are all contributing more.

The fresh funds will empower the company to beef up its sales, marketing and pre-sales support. On top of that, IOTech has added field CTOs to its roster, further fortifying its expertise.

Notable names endorse IOtech

To help navigate this bold new chapter, David C. King, a seasoned hand in the industrial IoT world and former CEO of FogHorn, is joining IOTech’s board of directors.

King is no stranger to steering companies toward success; he led FogHorn through three successful funding rounds before it was acquired by industrial automation giant Johnson Controls in 2022.

Gregg Adkin, managing director with Dell Technologies Capital, believes that IOTech’s technology is like a gold mine for industrial data.

As IOTech sets its sights on further U.S. growth, it’s also broadening its product portfolio beyond its current offering Edge Central, a control center that manages everything from connectivity to data processing of sensors and edge devices.

This platform is a spin-off from EdgeX, a leading open-source data integration platform.

IOTech says its platform is not only adaptable, but future-proof, safeguarding investments well beyond the hardware life cycle.

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