LG buys 80% stake in smart home specialist Athom
Japanese electronics giant LG plans to acquire the remaining 20% of the Dutch firm within the next three years.
LG is competing hard with other electronics conglomerates to build a presence in the embryonic smart home space. Its latest move is to acquire Netherlands-based Athom, which has developed its own hub and OS along with a flagship product – Homey Pro – that can connect to more than 50,000 devices across a range of connectivity types.
Ten year old Homey has a loyal customer base of hundreds of thousands of users across Europe and its devices are also available in Australia, Singapore, the US and Canada, in addition to Europe. Athom also offers around 1,000 applications for connecting and controlling smart home devices from brands such as Philips Hue and IKEA.
LG wants to integrate Athom's ecosystem with its own Affectionate Intelligence technology and also combine its LG ThinQ platform's smart home technology with Athom's open ecosystem and IoT device connectivity.
"The acquisition of Athom is a cornerstone for our AI home business," said Jung Ki-hyun, executive vice president and head of LG's Platform Business Center. "By leveraging the synergy between the two companies, we will expand our open ecosystem and external integration services, aiming to provide customers with more diverse and multidimensional space experiences."
LG's press statement noted that Athom will continue to operate independently, maintaining its business operations and branding even after the acquisition.