Ericsson has signed an agreement for the transfer of its IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses to San Jose based-Aeris Communications, a provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
The combined platforms will connect more than 100 million IoT devices worldwide. For customers, the companies say that this will provide stability needed to support the full lifecycle of IoT programs across multiple industries.
Ericsson IoT Accelerator is used by over 9,000 enterprises to manage more than 95 million connected devices, with 22 million eSIM connections globally. Aeris’ Intelligent IoT Network targets industry verticals such as transportation, energy, automotive, and healthcare, and gives communications service providers the opportunity to monetize new services on top of the connectivity enabled by the IoT Accelerator.
“Aeris has been successful in extending its IoT solution offering beyond connectivity and has the right focus, assets, and capabilities to realize the full value creation potential of Ericsson’s IoT business and its strong market presence,” said Åsa Tamsons, head of business area technologies and new businesses at Ericsson. “The combined business will offer an unparalleled IoT platform for enterprises and new revenue streams for communication service providers, ultimately benefiting Ericsson’s customers. Aeris is a good home for our IoT business.”
According to Ericsson, the merger of the two industry leading players will accelerate the IoT market overall, and IoT will be a fundamental and growing part of the 4G and 5G market.
This deal includes the transfer of Ericsson’s assets and employees from its IoT business to Aeris. Ericsson also intends to support Aeris with transition services and will acquire a small stake in the company.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.