In this article we will take a look at the 14 best IoT companies.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is on track to become a trillion dollar industry by the middle of this decade as relentless innovation drives remarkable growth and continues to spark investor interest from across the world. According to forecasts by global research and advisory firm Gartner, new IoT companies are now focusing on revenue generation not only through connectivity but by application development, platform hosting and other services.
Innovation is booming within the sector that managed to attract close to $20 billion in investments over the past year. According to Venture Scanner, a research firm that specializes in providing insights into emerging technologies, this innovative energy is evidenced by the explosion of IoT startups over the past few years. In 2020 alone, these seed and early stage companies attracted a whopping 68% of total investments in IoT.
The rollout of 5G internet services in many countries looks set to hasten the pace of research and development in IoT. Some companies are already setting a benchmark in this regard. Even as big IoT firms like Google Nest, Amazon Ring and GE Digital steal the spotlight and establish themselves in the marketplace, the 14 firms mentioned below have managed to hold their own in the IoT universe through sheer creative genius and business acumen.

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With this context and industry outlook in mind, let’s start our list of 14 most innovative IoT companies.
Best Internet of Things (IoT) Companies in the World
14. Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS)
California-based Skyworks Solutions is one of the best Internet of Things companies in the world. The company enables connectivity for IoT products through its chips and communication equipment. For example, Skyworks’ SKY68020-11, which is a multi-band multi-chip RF front-end (RFFE) module, powers IoT and smart home devices. The company’s products are used by major companies including Amazon, Arlo, Google, Honeywell and Ring.
13. Sierra Wireless, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWIR)
Sierra Wireless is one of the best Internet of Things companies in the world, offering connectivity services for various IoT devices. The company provides embedded modules, routers and gateways to power IoT applications and devices. The company is known for its Cloud-based IoT solution called Octave. Octave processes data through modules, gateways, wireless connectivity and cloud APIs to facilitate decision-making in IoT systems.
12. NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI)
NXP Semiconductors offers various IoT solutions, including gateways, Cloud services and wireless equipment. The company in February launched EdgeLock 2GO IoT service platform for deployment and management of IoT devices. The platform is integrated with the company’s Common Criteria (CC) EAL 6+ certified EdgeLock SE050 secure element to protect IoT devices.
11. CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP)
CalAmp is one of the best Internet of Things companies providing solutions in the fleet management and industrial IoT industry. The company’s IoT solution provides real-time equipment and vehicle monitoring by giving insights into location and real-time updates about vehicles and fleet units.
10. Mocana
Mocana, founded in the early 2000s, is a firm that specializes in cybersecurity and protects millions of IoT devices from a whole range of threats. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California and presently serves over 200 clients. It has so far managed to generate close to $100 million in funding, with over $15 million coming in the latest round.
IoT Analytics, a leading market research firm, has projected that there will be more than 30 billion IoT devices in the world by 2025. By comparison, the world population is projected to be a little over 7 billion by that time. Naturally, with so many inter-connected devices around humans, privacy and security concerns take center stage. Gartner claims privacy and security are top challenges faced by IoT projects around the world.
Mocana, in anticipation of the growth of the IoT sector, is already offering safe and secure digital transformation to companies and people throughout the world. The firm’s technology already protects close to 100 million devices and aims to expand. The company’s core philosophy revolves around helping businesses develop self-defending systems that are resistant to tampering from the outside.
9. EnOcean
EnOcean, also founded in the early 2000s, is a firm that offers energy harvesting technology that can deliver data for IoT devices in a resource-saving, maintenance-free way. The company, headquartered near Munich, has so far raised close to $31 million in investments, including $8 million in the latest round. It is presently serving over 350 product manufacturers and has provided energy harvesting solutions for more than a million buildings already.
Big power trade wars over the supply of rare earths in the past few years have exposed a critical flaw in a world full of electronic devices. What happens if access to materials that power electronic devices is blocked? Even though research is still ongoing to explore the use of nuclear energy as a possible solution to this problem, cheaper and more effective methods, like solar power, could offer a more environment-friendly solution to the problem.
EnOcean is offering customers exactly that, with wireless technology that uses energy from the surroundings to stay powered. The estimated annual revenue of EnOcean is presently close to $10 million and the company employs more than 150 people. Earlier this month, the firm joined hands with indoor services provider Cisco DNA to bring self-powered IoT devices to smart spaces. The core aim of the firm is to provide solutions without the hassle of batteries or wires.
8. Sight Machine
SightMachine, founded in 2011, is a company providing real-time analytics to manufacturing industries in order to help them address production challenges and improve quality. The firm is based in San Francisco, California. It has so far raised more than $80 million in funding, including close to $30 million in the latest round, from different investors. It has around a hundred employees and many big tech partners, including Microsoft and Google.
IoT devices are primarily gathering data from their surroundings without human input, and one of the most important aspects of data collection is analytics. For industry-wide applications, analytics can be an important tool for assessing past performance. However, the use of analytics to improve performance on the go in the manufacturing industry is a big problem as many different datasets are used by each production facility.
Sigh Machine, in line with a company philosophy that calls for the merging of traditional power with new technology, is offering manufacturers the ability to optimize production according to their own preferred metrics. This is achieved by a dynamic analytics process that looks at manufacturing data in real time and uses a digital representation of the production process to identify errors, improve efficiency and maximize output.
7. Verkada
Verkada, founded in 2016, is a company offering enterprise-level security solutions to businesses. It is based in San Mateo, California. So far, the company has raised close to $140 million in investments, including $80 million in the latest round. The company has close to 500 employees. Verkada has partnered with leading technology firms in the United States, including automaker Tesla. It offers services in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada as well.
For enterprise-level security in the internet age, cloud storage and reliability at low bandwidths have always been key concerns. In addition, video security and access control have also traditionally been separate projects. According to a 2020 white paper by cloud security firm Cisco, as IoT devices take over the world, it is projected that machine to machine connections will be more than half of all devices and connections globally by next year.
Verkada has anticipated these trends and offered solutions to the problems. The company gives encrypted cloud storage to customers and offers reliability at low bandwidths through its especially designed cameras. It has combined on-site hardware with a one-stop software solution to manage access control and video security in every part of an organization. The success of the firm is evidenced by the fact that 25 global Fortune 500 companies trust it.
6. Whill
Whill, founded in 2012, is a firm that designs and manufactures robotic wheelchairs or personal mobility devices for different applications. The company has raised more than $75 million in funding till now, including $45 million in the latest round. The company is headquartered in San Carlos, California. It has more than 200 employees. The company has grown in the past few years, establishing offices in Europe and China.
According to market and advisory group Technavio, the robotic wheelchairs market is expected to grow by $240 million by 2024. However, some users of robotic wheelchairs do not want to be associated with the perceptions associated with the mobility vehicle. Although it would have been quite impossible to address the issue in the past, thanks to IoT devices, these vehicles can now be turned into personal mobility vehicles.
Whill is not the first IoT health firm, but it is certainly one of the fastest growing in the sector. In addition to being electrically powered, the vehicles made by the company are afforded with sensors that gather data and transmit it wirelessly in order to personalize the vehicle experience of the customer in question. The firm has so far sold more than 400 such vehicles in the United States alone and plans to expand overseas in the coming years.
5. Tado
Tado, founded in 2011, is a firm providing intelligent climate management to buildings and homes in order to save energy and costs. The company has so far raised close to $110 million in funding, including more than $2 million in the latest round. The firm is operating from Munich but serving customers worldwide. In early 2020, it announced that it had sold 1 million thermostat units in Europe, evidence of a rapidly growing business segment.
Data released by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States indicates that heating and cooling buildings is responsible for more than 6 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in a report, claimed that more than a third of total global energy was used just to maintain climate control in buildings. It is therefore no secret that a climate control of buildings leaves behind a huge carbon footprint.
Tado has come with a solution to this problem. The products that the company provides lower the overall carbon footprint of buildings and pave the way for a cleaner, greener future. Tado Climate Control systems connect to the internet and wirelessly transmit data in order to heat and cool areas only when necessary. The company claims that it reduces energy usage by up to 31% using this mechanism, thereby saving consumers 22% in costs.
4. Grownetics
Grownetics, founded in 2015, is a crop-analytics and cultivation system firm that facilitates indoor farming. It has so far raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding, although the exact figure remains undisclosed. The company is headquartered in Colorado, United States. It currently operates on a small team but has plans to grow. The company also has one trademark registered to its name in the electronic apparatus category.
Global population is continuing to increase at an alarming rate and food security is a growing concern for many countries. There is evidence to suggest that indoor farming may need to supplement outdoor growing in order to meet food demand of the global population in the coming years. However, indoor farming methods are still in their infancy and there is a dire need for research and development in the sector.
Grownetics is stepping in to fill that void. The company uses sensors and artificial intelligence to make 3D models for climate control, offers remote assistance and plant tracking to farmers, and even provides task management. As precision farming market share expands, with expected growth forecast to touch $12 billion this decade, the company at the forefront of this revolution should certainly be worth a lot more in the future.
3. Sonos, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO)
Sonos, founded in 2002, is a designer and manufacturer of multi-room wireless audio systems. The company has partnerships with big music streaming platforms and offers users the ability to play and access millions of different kinds of songs without the hassle of computers or smartphones. It has so far raised close to $455 million in funding, including $130 million in the latest round. It has more than 500 employees and offers services in more than 60 countries.
The digitization of everyday life in the past decade has virtually eliminated the need for CDs, DVDs, and record players. Millions of people worldwide now subscribe exclusively to streaming platforms to get their music. A centralized audio experience at home, in which devices are connected to a single platform, though, is missing. Sonos is hoping to tap this market, thereby creating an audio experience that can be lived in any part of the house.
Sonos has thus far filed more than 500 patents in this regard as they develop their business model. Innovation, therefore, forms the key to their growth over the past few years. The products that the company offers include wireless speakers, home theatre speakers and other home audio equipment. Multi-room audio software technologies for advanced acoustics are also developed by the company, according to news agency Reuters.
2. PrecisionHawk
PrecisionHawk, founded in 2010, is a company that uses unmanned aerial systems, remote sensing and advanced data analytics to help companies improve their businesses. It has so far raised $136 million in investor capital, including $32 million in the latest round. The company has close to 200 employees and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm offers end-to-end solution aerial data gathering, processing and analysis.
Big firms with expansive networks regularly use aerial data to monitor their business. There are applications for aerial data processing in farming and state security as well. However, artificial intelligence driven softwares that collect, process and analyze these datasets are still a much-sought after commodity. PrecisionHawks offers businesses the luxury of automated analysis, thereby saving huge amounts of money that would otherwise be spent on ground.
The company provides clients with a platform that uses drones for data collection. This data is then run through software tools that deliver better business-specific intelligence to people from many different industries. The firm also owns aerial data software, DataMapper, and satellite imagery provider, Terraserver.
1. Sphero
Sphero, founded in 2010, is a company that makes programmable robots and other high-tech tools to make it easier and more fun for students to learn about different topics. The firm has so far raised more than $148 million in funding, including $27 million in the latest round. The company is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. It has over a hundred employees and has partners in over 80 countries and 20,000 educational institutions.
Merging robots with the digital world has been one key precursor to the proliferation of IoT over the past few years. Even smart hotels are now using robots to deliver services to clients. Sphero has been an important part of this digitization. A report by a robotics firm claims that consumer demand for entertainment robots is going to increase dramatically this decade. Spehro aims to lead the market when that happens.
The firm generates more than $20 million in annual revenue and has three corporate family connections. In 2019, the company announced plans to build a robot that could go anywhere and do anything. The robot would have modular parts and would be all-terrain capable. The dream was realized later that year, when the robot was released at a starting price of just $249. It was an instant success, especially with children.
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