Now that 2018 is complete, let’s see how exit activity for the internet of things (IoT) compares to previous years. The graphic below shows the total annual IoT exit events over time.
IoT Exits Over Time
As the graphic demonstrates, 2018 saw a dip in IoT exit activity compared to the previous year. The 47 exit events in 2018 represent a 23% decrease from the 61 exit events in 2017, which was the highest year on record for exit activity. However, IoT exits are still on a general upward trend, with a 5-year CAGR of 31% from 2013 to 2018. Let’s see if the IoT exit activity in 2019 will jump back up to the 2017 level.
This blog post examines the different components of the IoT sector and how they make up this startup ecosystem. We will illustrate what the categories of innovation are and which categories have the most companies. We will also compare the categories in terms of their funding and maturity.
IoT Home Is the Largest Internet of Things Category
Let’s start off by looking at the Sector Map. We have classified 2194 IoT startups into 20 categories that have raised $62 billion. The Sector Map highlights the number of companies in each category. It also shows a random sampling of companies in each category.
Internet of Things Sector Map
We see that IoT Home is the largest category with 331 companies. These companies create connected devices focused on residential segment usage. These devices include home security, home automation, and energy management systems. Some example companies are Eero, Leeo, Tado°, and Netatmo.
Let’s now look at our Innovation Quadrant to find out the funding and maturity of these categories in relation to one another.
The Established Quadrant Has the Most Internet of Things Categories
Our Innovation Quadrant divides the internet of things categories into four different quadrants.
Internet of Things Innovation Quadrant
We see that the Established quadrant has the most IoT categories with 7. These categories have reached maturity with less-than-average financing. The Pioneers quadrant has 5 categories that are in the earlier stages of funding and maturity. The Disruptors quadrant also has 5 categories, which have acquired significant financing at a young age. The Heavyweights quadrant has 3 categories that have reached maturity with significant financing.
We’ve analyzed the IoT categories and their relative stages of innovation. Let’s now look at how they stack up against one another in terms of their total funding versus company counts.
IoT Fitness Startups Have the Most Funding
The graph below shows the total amount of venture funding and company count in each category.
Internet of Things Total Funding and Company Count
As the above graphic implies, the IoT Fitness category leads the sector in total funding with $7.6B. IoT Software Platforms and IoT Drones follow in second and third places with $7.4B and $7.3B in total funding, respectively.
IoT Fitness companies create connected devices that track fitness and exercise metrics. Such devices include healthy eating trackers, exercise tracking wristbands, and smartphone-controlled shoes. Some example companies in this category include Moov, Sensoria, Striiv, and Atlas Wearables.
Conclusion: IoT Home and IoT Fitness Categories Lead the Internet of Things
As the analysis above demonstrates, the IoT Home category leads the sector in total companies, and the IoT Fitness category leads in total funding. We’ll see how the IoT landscape evolves and develops in the new year!
We’ve previously highlighted that internet of things (IoT) funding saw growth in recent years. This blog post will take a closer look at the trends within the individual IoT categories. From our analysis, we notice that the IoT Fitness category leads in both Q3 and overall funding. We’ll discuss this with some charts below.
The IoT Fitness Category Leads Internet Of Things In Q3 Funding
To start off, let’s review the amount of funding raised this quarter per category within IoT.
Internet of Things Latest Quarter Category Funding
The above graphic highlights that the IoT Fitness category leads the sector in Q3 funding with $1B. IoT Lifestyle category follows in second place with $0.8B in Q3 funding.
IoT Fitness companies create connected devices that track fitness and exercise metrics. Such devices include healthy eating trackers, exercise tracking wristbands, and smartphone-controlled shoes. Some example companies in this category include Moov, Sensoria, Striiv, and Atlas Wearables.
Let’s now investigate how the IoT categories’ funding compare with each other historically.
The IoT Fitness Category Also Leads in All-Time Funding
The graph below shows the all-time funding for the various IoT categories. The Q3 funding and growth rates of these categories are also highlighted.
Internet of Things Total Category Funding
As the bar graph indicates, the IoT Fitness category also leads in total funding at $7.6B. IoT Software Platforms and IoT Drones follow in second and third places with $7.4B and $7.3B in total funding, respectively.
In summary, IoT Fitness category leads the IoT sector in funding. Let’s see how the the rest of 2018 shapes up for the internet of things!
Here is our Q3 2018 summary report on the internet of things (IoT) startup sector. The following report includes a sector overview and recent activity.
The internet of things (IoT) sector has experienced rapid developments in recent years. Its applications can be observed in all industries from manufacturing to retail to healthcare. In addition, we’ve analyzed that its funding and exit activity are on generally upward trends.
We will now take a closer look at the different components of the IoT sector and how they make up this startup ecosystem. This blog post will illustrate what the major sector categories are and which categories have the most companies. We will also compare the categories in terms of their funding and maturity.
IoT Home Is the Largest IoT Category
Let’s start off by looking at the Sector Map for the IoT sector. We have classified 2164 IoT startups into 20 categories that have raised $57 billion. The Sector Map highlights the number of companies in each category. It also shows a random sampling of companies in each category.
Internet of Things Sector Map
We see that IoT Home is the largest category with 329 companies. These companies create connected devices focused on residential segment usage. These devices include home security, home automation, and energy management systems. Some example companies are Eero, Leeo, Tado°, and Netatmo.
We have seen what the different categories making up this sector are and the number of companies in each. What about their funding and maturity in relation to one another? Let’s look at our Innovation Quadrant to find out.
The Pioneers Quadrant Has the Most IoT Categories
Our Innovation Quadrant divides the IoT categories into four different quadrants.
Internet of Things Innovation Quadrant
We see that the Pioneers quadrant has the most IoT categories with 9. The Pioneer categories are in the earlier stages of funding and maturity. The Disruptors quadrant has 5 categories that have acquired significant financings at a young age. The Established quadrant has 3 categories that have reached maturity with less financing. The Heavyweights quadrant also contains 3 categories. These categories have reached maturity with significant financings.
We’ve analyzed the IoT categories and their relative stages of innovation. Let’s now look at how they stack up against one another in terms of their total funding versus company counts.
IoT Software Platform Startups Have the Most Funding
The graph below shows the total amount of venture funding and company count in each category.
Internet of Things Total Funding and Company Count
As the above graphic implies, the IoT Software Platforms category leads in total funding with $7.1 billion. The IoT Drones and Robotics category follows in a close second place with $7 billion.
Software Platform companies build backend software systems that provide infrastructure for IoT companies. These systems include wireless communication networks and data analytics platforms. Some example companies in this category are Electric Imp, Relayr, Sigfox, and C3 IoT.
Conclusion: IoT Home and IoT Software Platforms Lead the Sector
The analysis above demonstrates that the IoT Home category leads the sector in total companies. The IoT Software Platforms category leads in total funding. We’ll see how things evolve during the rest of 2018.
The Drones and Robotics category leads the sector in Q2 funding
The Drones and Robotics category also had the highest funding growth percentage
We’ll explain these takeaway with some graphics and discussions below.
The Drones and Robotics Category Leads IoT in Q2 Funding
To start off, let’s review the amount of funding raised this quarter by each category within IoT.
IoT Current Quarter Category Funding
The above graphic shows that the Drones and Robotics category leads the sector in Q2 funding with $1.3B. Its funding is 3 times higher than that in the next category, Health Care at $0.4B.
So we’ve observed how different IoT categories stack up in their Q2 funding. But how do these categories’ funding growth rates compare with one another? Let’s investigate that in the next section.
Drones and Robotics Funding Grew the Fastest in Q2
The graph below shows the all-time funding for different IoT categories. The quarterly funding and growth rates of these categories are also highlighted.
IoT Total Category Funding
This graphic indicates that the Drones and Robotics category experienced the largest funding growth in Q2 at 24%. The City and Buildings category follows in second place at 14%.
In addition, Drones and Robotics now has the second-highest all-time funding at $7B. This is slightly behind the sector leader, Software Platforms at just above $7B.
Conclusion: The Drones and Robotics Category Saw Large Growth in Q2
In summary, we have analyzed the IoT funding amounts in different categories. We’ve discovered that the Drones and Robotics category leads in Q2 funding and had the highest growth percentage. It’ll be interesting to see if any other IoT categories will catch up in the rest of 2018.
After taking a deeper dive on our IoT report and research platform, we observe that if the current trend holds, IoT exit activity in 2018 will be lower than in 2017.
2018 Mid-Year IoT Exit Activity Lower Than 2017 But Higher Than 2016
Let’s take a closer look at the number of IoT exit events by year.
Internet of Things Exits by Quarter
The above graphic shows 26 exits in the first half of 2018. This is 43% of the 2017 total. Comparing Q1-Q2 exits only, 2018 is down slightly from 2017 but running ahead of 2016.
For the past three years, Q3 and Q4 accounted for 57% of total exit events on average. If that trend holds, 2018 will have around 60 exit events. That would be lower than the number of exits in 2017 but higher than that in 2016.
Conclusion: 2018 Trending To Be The Second Highest Year For IoT Exit Activity
In summary, we have performed a mid-year status check on IoT total exits by year. We predict that the sector’s exit activity in 2018 will be lower than 2017 but higher than 2016. It’ll be interesting to see if the IoT exit activity by the end of 2018 turns out to align with our prediction.
Our sector maps are snapshots of emerging technology sectors. They show what the different categories in a sector are and how many startups are within each category. They also present a small sampling of the current startups that are innovating in each category.
Last week, we kicked off our sector map update with Part 1. You can read that blog post here.
This post is the second of a two-part series. Below you will find sector maps for Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Marketing Technology, Real Estate Technology, Retail Technology, Security Technology, Transportation Technology, and Virtual Reality.
Venture Scanner Insights 