IoT start-up EVRYTHNG secures $24.8 million in second round of funding

IoT smart products platform, EVRYTHNG, has closed its Series B funding round with $24.8 million, led by San Francisco-based investment firm Sway Ventures.

Toronto-based Generation Ventures and London-based BLOC Ventures were also involved, joining a growing team of investors that already includes Samsung and Cisco Investments.

EVRYTHNG’s management said the funding will support its growth through new partnerships, the expansion of its team and development of the platform.

Creating digital identities for ‘EVRYTHNG’

EVRYTHNG, which was founded in 2011 and launched a year later, has a vision of “Every Thing Connected”, according to CEO and co-founder, Niall Murphy.

The company works with manufacturers and packaging companies among others to connect consumer products to the internet, creating for each item a ‘digital identity’ which can be tracked and managed in the cloud, supposedly making products smarter.

Its portfolio includes tracking products through the supply chain, direct-to-consumer applications through smart packaging and operating directly-connected smart home products.

In the last 12 months, EVRYTHNG said it has partnered with global packaging companies Avery Dennison, Crown Holdings and WestRock, giving roughly 300 billion consumer products a digital identity in the cloud embedded at its point of manufacture – something EVRYTHNG calls #BornDigital.

The company is also working with Coca Cola, General Electric and the world’s largest producer of spirits, Diageo, to drive sales when consumers use smartphones before making a purchase.

A Father’s Day pilot in Brazil, for example, attached a personalized film tribute (played via a smartphone) to a bottle of whisky consumer’s were giving as a gift.

Is IoT maturing?

According to Murphy, the funding round is a sign that the IoT is maturing and adoption in the enterprise is on the move.

“Digital transformation is rewriting the rules for every consumer products brand. The digitization of products to drive data intelligence, connect directly with end-users and deliver new business models is now mission-critical,” he said.

EVRYTHNG already manages 500 million ‘Active Digital Identities’ for smart products and this, in part, is the motivation behind investment from Sway Ventures.

Brian Nugent, founding general partner at Sway Ventures, said “Sway invests in high-performing teams building revolutionary technology and creating the next enterprise or consumer category, and the Internet of Things is a burgeoning technology of increasing significance to brands across a wide range of sectors.

“EVRYTHNG is at the forefront of enabling brands and product manufacturers to make smart products…We are excited to be supporting the company’s growth and realization of its vision, which is both category-defining and playing a critical role in the digital transformation of the consumer product brand market.”