LG Electronics has acquired an 80% stake in Athom as the world of immersive environments and spatial computing evolves and businesses explore how a transformation of the office and home workspace might change people's roles, tasks and positions.
Founded in 2014 and based in Enschede, Netherlands, Athom develops the Homey smart home hub, which connects home appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and offers cloud subscription services.
Homey has expanded primarily in Europe over the past decade, building a customer base of hundreds of thousands of users. As of 2023, the company's devices are sold in Europe as well as Australia, Singapore, the United States and Canada. Its flagship product, Homey Pro, can connect to over 50,000 devices and supports a variety of connection methods, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Matter and Thread.
Athom has also developed its own hub and operating system to build an independent smart home ecosystem. The Homey App Store, managed by Athom, offers around 1,000 applications for connecting and controlling home devices from brands such as Philips Hue and IKEA. Many of these applications are based on official partnerships, along with a large number of apps developed by the Homey community. Users can also create a smart home environment by downloading apps from the store and linking their devices.
LG put the deal in financial terms, citing research from analysts TechNavio which predicts the global smart home market will grow from $81.2 billion in 2023 to $260.24 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate of 26.23%.
By integrating Athom's capabilities with its Affectionate Intelligence technology, LG aims to lead the way in an era of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven home innovation and strengthen LG's connectivity in the open smart home ecosystem.
Under the acquisition agreement, LG plans to integrate Athom connectivity, which links home appliances, sensors and lighting devices, with its Generative AI (GenAI)-enabled LG ThinQ platform, aiming to create an AI home that provides optimal spatial services by gaining a deeper understanding of customers.
In AI Home, LG envisions customers working with GenAI to manage their home appliances and IoT devices to create a personalized environment tailored to their preferences.
LG envisions extending the differentiated customer experience of AI Home to various spaces where customers spend time, such as commercial spaces and mobility environments, ultimately realizing and developing the concept of intelligent spaces.
LG believes it aims to significantly enhance the scalability required for AI home implementations, achieving “best in class standards.”
The acquisition will also enable LG to incorporate third-party devices and services into its ecosystem, as the company aims to build ongoing relationships with customers through the multitude of devices connected to its AI home, ultimately transforming it into a smart life solutions company.
The acquisition agreement includes an option for LG to acquire the remaining 20% stake in Atom over the next three years. Following the acquisition, Atom will operate independently, maintaining its business operations and brand. The strategy aims to maximize Atom's growth potential and “distinctive” strengths, and to foster synergies in operations, R&D capabilities and platform utilization.
“The acquisition of Atom will be a cornerstone of our AI Home business,” said Chung Ki-hyun, executive vice president and head of the Platform Business Center at LG. “By leveraging the synergies between the two companies, we aim to expand our open ecosystem and external integration services to provide customers with a more diverse and multidimensional spatial experience.”