Verizon To Acquire IoT Startup Sensity Systems To Add More Smart City Control To ThingSpace

Verizon is in hot pursuit of Internet of Things opportunities and is showing no signs of cooling down on making IoT investments. The telecom giant Monday said it plans to acquire Sensity Systems, a smart LED lighting provider, for an undisclosed amount.

Verizon's acquisition of the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based IoT startup is aimed at simplifying large-scale smart city deployments through the integration of Sensity's smart lighting technology into Verizon's ThingSpace IoT development platform, according to Verizon, Basking Ridge, N.J.

Sensity Systems has been helping businesses convert older lighting systems to connected LED systems since its inception in 2010. Via the addition of Sensity technology to ThingSpace -- which can handle device management and analytics -- developers can add LED lighting control to their environments, including streets, airports and retail locations, the company said.

[Related: Verizon, Qualcomm Team Up To Deliver Full IoT Package To Businesses, Developers]

In addition to its smart lighting solutions, Sensity offers parking and security IoT applications. Verizon has not commented on wither these solutions will be included in the acquisition.

"Sensity is a leading provider of IoT solutions for smart communities with a strong ecosystem of partners, and this transaction will accelerate the deployment of large-scale implementations that will drive the digital transformation of cities, universities and venues," said Mike Lanman, senior vice president, Enterprise Products and IoT, for Verizon in a statement.

Verizon declined CRN’s request for further comment on the Sensity acquisition and the potential opportunities for its channel partners, citing that the provider is in a quiet period until the transaction closes.

The latest acquisition news follows several other significant IoT transactions that Verizon has pursued over the past several months.

Verizon in August said it would acquire Dublin-based fleet and mobile management company Fleetmatics Group for $2.4 billion. In the same month, the telecom provider revealed a new partnership with chipmaker Qualcomm that would integrate its ThingSpace platform into Qualcom's low-power MDM9206 Category M LTE modem to let businesses build and scale their IoT environments quickly, the two companies said.

Verizon said that it expects the Sensity deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year.