Microsoft Acquires Express Logic To Boost IoT

Microsoft announced that it has acquired Express Logic, a leader in real-time operating systems (RTOS) for Internet of Things (IoT), and in edge devices powered by microcontroller units (MCUs).

The announcement comes after the tech giant has already made investments to boost its IoT development, including Azure Sphere, Azure Digital Twins, Azure IoT Edge, Azure Maps and Azure IoT Central. Microsoft has also formed partnerships with DJI, SAP, PTC, Qualcomm and Carnegie Mellon University for IoT and edge app development.

Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS has over 6.2 billion deployments, with manufacturers using its solutions to get to market faster.

“With this acquisition, we will unlock access to billions of new connected endpoints, grow the number of devices that can seamlessly connect to Azure and enable new intelligent capabilities,” wrote Sam George, director of Azure IoT, in a blog post.

He continued, “Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS joins Microsoft’s growing support for IoT devices, and is complementary with Azure Sphere, our premier security offering in the microcontroller space. Our goal is to make Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS available as an option for real-time processing requirements on an Azure Sphere device, and also enable ThreadX-powered devices to connect to Azure IoT Edge devices when the IoT solution calls for edge computing capabilities. While we recommend Azure Sphere for customers’ most secured connections to the cloud, where Azure Sphere isn’t possible in highly constrained devices, we recommend Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS over other RTOS options in the industry because of its additional certifications and out-of-the-box connectivity to Azure IoT Hub.”

“As we’ve stated consistently in the past, our primary goal is to simplify IoT — from the cloud all the way down to the smallest MCU-based devices. We do this by meeting our customers where they are with the right developer tools, software and intelligent cloud services to manage their solutions at scale. Express Logic’s technology and team will be an incredible addition to Microsoft in our quest to give every customer the ability to transform their businesses, and the world at large, with connected solutions,” he added.