The 10 Top IoT Startups Of 2018 (So Far)

As venture capital funding for Internet of Things startups reaches an all-time high, we look at the top 10 channel-friendly IoT startups set to make big moves in 2018.

VC Funding For IoT Startups Is Surging

Venture capital funding for Internet of Things startups reached $1.46 billion last year, according to Crunchbase, marking an all-time high and a 42 percent increase from 2016.

Some of these IoT startups have shown a particular interest in using channel partners as part of their go-to-market efforts. With international IoT spending set to reach $772.5 billion this year, according to research firm IDC, these startups present new opportunities for systems integrators, MSPs and other solution providers that want to carve out their own space in IoT.

Here are CRN's picks for the top 10 channel-friendly IoT startups in 2018.

(For more on the biggest news of 2018, check out "CRN's Tech Midyear In Review.")

Armis

CEO: Yevgeny Dibrov

Armis provides an agentless IoT security platform that helps enterprises gain visibility and take control of the increasing number of unmanaged devices coming into business environments.

That includes smartphones, tablets, printers, smart cameras and Amazon Echo devices, the latter of which the Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup has found to be highly prevalent in offices.

The startup raised a $30 million financing round in April, some of which is being used to help the company's goal of becoming "100 percent channel-focused," CEO Yevgeny Dibrov told CRN earlier this year. Armis' current channel partners include Presidio, Optiv, Inno4 and Red Sky Solutions.

Ayla Networks

CEO: David Friedman

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Ayla Networks provides an enterprise software platform that helps accelerate the commercialization of connected products.

The startup raised a $60 million Series D round last November that it is using to increase its data extraction and business intelligence capabilities and expand its network of partners. The company's channel partners include Cognizant, Cardinal Peak and ServicePower.

David Friedman, Ayla's CEO and co-founder, said the company had more than 100 large enterprise customers as of last November.

Axonize

CEO: Janiv Ratson

Based in Bonn, Germany, Axonize is a startup founded by back-end server experts and bills itself as "the only IoT platform built for system integrators."

The startup raised a $6 million Series A round in April that included a "substantial investment" from Deutsche Telekom. Its IoT platform is based on Microsoft Azure and allows for cross-application orchestration and management, as well as fast development time.

Axonize's platform is purpose-built for both IoT systems integrators and service providers that works with any sensor, hardware, protocol or system from any industry.

Claroty

CEO: Amir Zilberstein

Claroty is an IoT security startup that provides threat detection and monitoring software for industrial control networks.

The New York-based startup raised a $60 million financing round in June that came from Rockwell Automation and venture capital firms founded by Schneider Electric and Siemens, among other investors. The funding is being used to expand engineering and sales and marketing efforts.

The company's goal is to have more than 50 percent of its revenue come from channel partners next year. Its Vision channel program has more than 40 partners now, including Optiv, Oylo and Inno4.

Fog Horn

CEO: David King

FogHorn is an industrial IoT startup that counts several big industrial and tech names as investors, including Intel, Bosch, Dell and General Electric.

The San Francisco-based startup provides edge intelligence software that enables a wide range of industrial and commercial customers to bring real-time feedback and automated control systems to remote control systems. This year it unveiled integration partnerships with Google Cloud and embedded software provider Wind River.

FogHorn has hauled in a total of $47.5 million in funding, most recently with a $30 million Series B last fall. The company works with an array of channel partners, including Tech Mahindra, PwC and NEC.

Helium

CEO: Amir Haleem

Backed by Google Ventures and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Helium is planning to use its own cryptocurrency to incentivize the buildout of low-power, global IoT networks.

The San Francisco-based startup plans to accomplish this by using blockchain technology to build a decentralized machine network that compensates consumers and businesses who provide connectivity to nearby devices with Helium's gateways.

The company told CRN it will rely on systems integrators like Capgemini and McKinsey as its primary go-to-market strategy. It will also rely on independent software vendors, application developers, makers and hardware manufacturers to provide applications that run on its network.

MachineMetrics

CEO: Bill Bither

MachineMetrics is an industrial IoT startup that provides real-time analytics software for small to midsize manufacturers.

The Northampton, Mass.-based startup has raised $2 million in funding from investors, including hardware incubator Bolt. Its software uses machine-learning algorithms on data from CNC machines to recognize when the machines are running under capacity or require maintenance.

The company's partner program, which targets IT consultancies, machine tool companies and machine tool distributors, promises more profitable service contracts.

Particle

CEO: Zach Supalla

Particle provides an IoT hardware, software and connectivity platform the startup says is the most widely used in the industry, with developers across 8,500 companies using Particle to build products.

The San Francisco-based startup, which raised a $20 million round led by Qualcomm Ventures last summer, recently unveiled an all-in-one solution for IoT devices running on LTE networks that Particle promises will lower costs, increase battery life and improve connectivity for IoT deployments.

CEO Zach Supalla told CRN earlier this year that he "fundamentally believes" that channel sales will make up most of Particle's revenue in the long term.

Rigado

CEO: Ben Corrado

Rigado is a Portland, Ore.-based provider of commercial IoT Edge-as-a-Service solutions for asset tracking, smart lighting, and sensing and monitoring.

The startup in June announced a $15 million Series A funding round that will be used to expand its engineering, sales and deployment teams. The company's newest offering is Cascade, an integrated Edge-as-a-Service solution built on top of Microsoft Azure for connectivity, computing and security.

With more than 300 global customers, Rigado works with Arrow Electronics, Digi-Key Electronics and other distributors for its channel sales efforts.

SecuriThings

CEO: Roy Dagan

Founded in 2015, SecuriThings is an Israeli startup that provides security software for networks that consist of large numbers of connected devices.

The startup, an alumnus of the Microsoft ScaleUp accelerator, uses behavioral analytics and machine learning to detect threats on IoT networks, a solution that can deployed without writing a single line of code. Supported verticals include physical security, smart cities and smart buildings.

Roy Dagan, CEO and co-founder of SecuriThings, told CRN that the company plans to ramp up its channel efforts this year with a focused on MSPs.