SmartThings
| File:Smarthings.png | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Home automation |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Areas served | Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States |
| Parent | Samsung Electronics |
| Website | www |
SmartThings Inc. is a US-based company specializing in home automation, with its main office located in Mountain View, California. It has been a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics since August 2014.
The firm was established in 2012 by entrepreneur Alex Hawkinson alongside his co-founders. SmartThings focuses on creating automation platforms and consumer applications tailored for smart homes and the broader Internet of things market. The company claims a user base of 62 million active accounts, noting a 70% increase between 2019 and 2020.
History
The idea for SmartThings originated with Alex Hawkinson, the founder and former CEO, after his family’s mountain residence in Colorado suffered extensive damage, underscoring the necessity for remote monitoring technologies. Identifying an opportunity in the market, Hawkinson and his team developed an initial prototype during 2011–2012. This prototype served as the foundation for a Kickstarter campaign launched in September 2012, which successfully raised $1.2 million—making it the second-largest crowdfunding initiative in the smart-home category at that time.
In December 2012, following a $3 million seed funding round led by venture capital investors, SmartThings introduced its commercial products in August 2013. Later that year, the company secured $12.5 million through Series A financing to broaden its product range and enhance market penetration.
Samsung Electronics completed its acquisition of SmartThings in August 2014 to bolster its presence within the smart home sector. Although financial specifics were not publicly disclosed, industry estimates placed the transaction near $200 million. This acquisition enabled Samsung to extend its global footprint and integrate SmartThings’ platform into its comprehensive IoT strategy.
Products and services
Initially, SmartThings provided proprietary hardware alongside software solutions, such as smart hubs and sensor devices for home automation. In June 2020, Mark Benson, head of engineering, announced a strategic shift concentrating exclusively on software development while delegating hardware production to external partners. By October 2020, Aeotec took over management of SmartThings’ hardware portfolio across Europe and subsequently expanded this responsibility to include Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.
As of February 2021, SmartThings’ primary focus is on cloud-based software services, strengthening its business model around scalable software innovations while relying on partnerships for worldwide hardware distribution. This transition reflects the company’s strategy to grow market share through software advancements rather than direct involvement in manufacturing physical devices.
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Smart home hubs
- American companies established in 2012
- Companies based in Mountain View, California
- Samsung Electronics
- American subsidiaries of foreign companies
- Internet of things companies
- Kickstarter-funded products
- IOS software
- Android (operating system) software
- Windows Phone software
- WatchOS software
- 2014 mergers and acquisitions
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
- 5