The 10 Coolest IoT Startups Of 2017

IoT Startups

The Internet of Things was top of mind both for investors and startups in 2017, as companies including Cisco and Intel continued to invest in IoT startups spanning industrial IoT, IoT security and other areas.

Many IoT startups have started to realize the importance of partnerships – particularly systems integrator partnerships – in bringing solutions to market, and companies including Pwnie Express and Armis this past year launched new programs aimed at building out their channel programs.

Meanwhile, other startups continued to rake in money through VC funding, which they are putting to use for market research, product development and go-to-market strategies. Following are the 10 coolest IoT startups of 2017.

Get more of CRN's 2017 tech year in review.

Armis

CEO: Yevgeny Dibrov

IoT security startup Armis, founded in 2015, offers an agentless security platform that lets enterprises see and control any device or network.

CEO Yevgeny Dibrov told CRN said that Armis' platform will "intimately" know every device, enabling enterprises to connect their devices in a way that doesn't put the company at risk. The platform gives enterprises complete visibility into which devices are in their environment and tracks their behavior – stopping devices from connecting to an inappropriate network or those that exhibit anomalous behavior, regardless of whether those devices are managed by IT or not.

The startup in June announced a new $17 million funding round that the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company will use to build out its channel program around its agentless IoT security platform.

Augury

CEO: Saar Yoskovitz

Augury makes diagnostic technology that physically captures machines' unique acoustic fingerprints, analyzes the data, and finds any potential malfunctions before they happen.

Augury's handheld device listens to machines and enables analysis capabilities on critical operational technology like pumps, fans, chillers and HVAC systems. The New York-based company also offers technology enabling industrial customers to continuously monitor data on their noncritical machines. The company's platform includes a management platform and complementary mobile app so that industrial customers can see trends and statistics about their machines.

Claroty

CEO: Amir Zilberstein

Founded in 2014, Claroty offers protection for granular operational technology network elements in industrial workplaces. The company enables engineers to protect their OT networks through its platform, which includes monitoring and management for factory floors. Under the leadership of CEO Amir Zilberstein, Claroty's team is led by pioneers in OT and IT cybersecurity.

IoTium

CEO: Ron Victor

Industrial IoT startup IoTium secures network infrastructure for manufacturing floors.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, founded this year, offers a network-as-a-service that essentially secures the connection of legacy on-site systems to cloud-based applications. The company's offering, which became publicly available in May, seeks to mitigate the challenge of industrial IoT deployment complexity and security concerns for manufacturers.

CEO Ron Victor in May said IoTium had secured $8.4 million in Series A financing to expand its channel footprint in an array of verticals, including smart buildings, the oil and gas markets, transportation and smart cities.

Pwnie Express

CEO: Paul Paget

Pwnie Express' IoT security platform, Pulse, continually identifies and assesses all devices and IoT systems, helping customers by providing tools to respond to threats that put systems at risk. The platform discovers all devices and establishes device identities, and then enables customers to respond to any threats directly from Pulse, CEO Paul Paget told CRN.

Reposify

CEO: Yaron Tal

Reposify, an IoT security company founded in 2016, provides insight on networks, digital assets and all devices from the hacker's point of view. Offerings enable enterprises to gain network visibility on a global scale, protect their networks from infected devices and vulnerable services, and easily discover, manage and monitor digital assets.

Rigado

CEO: Ben Corrado

IoT startup Rigado makes wireless hardware to help IoT manufacturers connect devices more rapidly and for a lower cost. These modules help companies connect devices in the cloud without having to build wireless infrastructure.

The Portland-based company in early June said it has raised $3.3 million in seed funding from Oregon Angel Fund, Rogue Ventures and other investors. Rigado said in a release that it will use this funding to grow its global presence in Europe and Asia, as well as expand its IoT connectivity product line with new solutions.

Samsara

CEO: Sanjit Biswas

Startup Samsara touts its internet-connected sensor offering, which includes wireless gateways that transmit data to software in the cloud for industrial customers. This software-centric offering takes data from sensors, encrypts and secures that data, and sends it to the cloud, where the company's cloud service aggregates and analyzes the data for business value.

The company has customized and deployed this offering to help improve safety, efficiency, compliance and end-user satisfaction for customers in an array of vertical markets, including transportation, industrial operations, utilities and warehouses.

The San Francisco-based company, which is led by the founders of Cisco's Meraki business, said in June that it had secured $40 million in a Series C funding round.

Tenable

CEO: Amit Yoran

Tenable Network Security, a security startup led by former RSA president Amit Yoran, has recently built up a new platform aimed at addressing connected operational technology assets.

The Columbia, Md.-based company in June released its cloud-based Tenable.io platform, which helps organizations discover their operational technology assets and secure them. With Tenable.io, manufacturers have complete visibility over their full range of assets. The platform, powered by Nessus sensors and third-party data collection technology, addresses the issue of OT security as more manufacturing floors adopt IoT.

ZingBox

CEO: Xu Zou

Founded in 2014, ZingBox's flagship product is its detection tool, IoT Guardian, an IoT security offering based on device "personalities." IoT Guardian leverages machine-learning capabilities to discover and assess risk and baseline normal behavior as well as detect anomalous activities.