The biggest names in technology are preparing for the Internet of Things revolution, from Samsung, which is planning an IoT-specific chip, to Facebook, which is exploring the launch of an IoT platform.
And there is good reason for this innovation. According to reports, businesses that are IoT-ready will be 10 percent more profitable than those that are not by 2025. The potential for financial gains in only a few years is vast.
But according to a new report, the potential for financial gains through the IoT is already evident. In 2015 alone, IoT-related merger and acquisition deals have accounted for nearly $15 billion.
The findings were released by 451 Research on Tuesday (May 12). So far, 39 Internet of Things-related companies have been acquired. The figures are impressive when compared to the whole of last year – itself a year that broke records – with 2014 seeing 62 IoT-related acquisitions, totaling $14.3 billion.
Between Jan. 1 and May 5 of 2012, there were only four IoT-related deals; the same period in 2013 saw just five, and in 2014 that period saw 14.
“While the Internet of Things is still in its infancy in terms of industry adoption, the deal-making accelerates unabated, and we see no end in site,” said 451 Research mobility team Vice President Brian Partridge. “The IT service and infrastructure leaders of the future will require broad and deep competencies in IoT, and those bets are being made now.”
According to researchers, businesses in the semiconductor industry have accounted for the bulk of these deals this year. Major conglomerates like Intel and ARM have each revealed new buyout plans this year, while NXP’s $11.8 billion buyout of Freescale Semiconductor holds the top spot for largest acquisition so far. Amazon and British Gas have also contributed to the record figures.
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