Particle Lands $40M To Become ‘All-In-One’ Solution For IoT Devices

Internet of Things (IoT) platform Particle announced that it has raised $40 million in a funding round led by Qualcomm Ventures and Energy Impact Partners. Launched in 2013, San Francisco-based Particle aims to be an all-in-one solution to help customers bring IoT devices to market by providing encryption and security, as well as data autonomy and scalability.

Existing investors — including Root Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, Industry Ventures, Spark Capital, Green D Ventures, Counterpart Ventures and SOSV — also participated in the Series C funding round. This round brings Particle’s total funding to $81 million. According to Zach Supalla, the company’s chief executive, the new funding will be used to continue developing its IoT platform suite, scale its engineering and product teams, and expand into new global markets. The company currently has 100 employees working to support 85 clients across agriculture, automotive, smart city and other industries.

“Our success can be measured by our customers’ growth — the average fleet of IoT products on our platform has grown by 70 percent since the beginning of the year, and our revenue has grown 150 percent year over year,” Supalla wrote in a blog post.

He added, “Over the past six years, it’s been incredible to see the growth of our customers’ businesses, which transformed how our platform supports them. Our customers who started as early innovators are now leaders in their industries.”

The company’s clients include Opti, which prevents city flooding through its intelligent stormwater management system in 41 cities around the world; Jacuzzi, which launched a connected spa product, SmartTub; and the Air National Guard, which uses dynamic asset-tracking solutions with its first responders in public emergencies.

“We are optimistic about the future,” wrote Supalla. “The IoT industry is complicated, and in need of talented individuals who can help bring the cost of connectivity down and help our customers build the connected products of the future. When this has been accomplished, entire industries will be revolutionized. And we’ll be out there, leading the charge.”