The wireless industry talks about the deployment of millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, whether for asset tracking, remote control, performance analytics and many other applications. But building, delivering and securely operating cellular-connected products is costly and complex. One company, headed by former Microsoft Software Architect Ray Ozzie, is attempting to solve this problem.
Blues Wireless is a startup company focused on providing affordable, quick-to-deploy solutions for connecting devices to the cloud, globally. It got a show of support this week through $22 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital and Lachy Groom, along with XYZ Venture Capital and returning investor Bill Gates.
“Despite the advent of IoT, most machines and devices are still not connected due to building and shipping complexities. Blues Wireless solves these issues by providing a simple way to build cellular connectivity into any device,” said Mike Vernal, partner at Sequoia. “We’ve been deep believers in Ray’s vision for mass-scale IoT since the seed, and we are excited to double down as the company grows.”
Ozzie’s venture into the world of IoT began back in 2011, when he had just left Microsoft, where he worked on the company’s Azure cloud computing product. He joined an organization that was building an open global sensing platform. Known as Safecast, the organization would eventually employ 5,000 citizen scientist volunteers to build one of the largest open environmental datasets in existence, monitoring air quality and radiation.
Ozzie learned an important, life-changing lesson from that experience, because of the difficulty of gathering that data. “If we’re to benefit from a world of devices that are cloud-connected from birth, IoT needs a new soul,” he wrote in a recent blog.
In March, Blues Wireless collaborated with Safecast to launch Airnote, an air quality monitoring device designed to be simple and cost-effective for mass deployment.
In late 2020, Blues Wireless announced the general availability of its flagship product, Notecard. The Notecard is a device-to-cloud data pump that reduces the complexity of building connected solutions with secure, reliable cellular, according to the company. The data is routed to the cloud applications of customers’ choice. As an embeddable system on module (SoM), the Notecard can be used with any microcontroller for both greenfield and retrofit projects using the user’s design.
“Today’s opportunity is not just about improving our own interactions, but in learning how best to collaborate with machines,” Ozzie said. “Distributed networks of sensors can enable us to know what’s happening in our environment; in our fleets; in our patients; in the COVID vaccination delivery chain; in our food supply; in our HVAC systems; at the entrances to our offices.”
Blues Wireless previously raised $11 million in funding for its seed round in March 2020. It is headquartered in Boston, MA, and can be reached at [email protected] for more information.
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