The 10 Coolest IoT Startups Of 2017 (So Far)

Starting Up In The IoT Space

The Internet of Things opportunity is growing – a new IDC report has forecast that IoT spending will grow 17 percent in 2017, signifying that customers around the world are ready to shell out money for IoT applications.

More startups are realizing this profit potential in the IoT market and are building up their portfolios with new offerings and services. The clear trend in 2017 has been industrial IoT-focused connectivity and security services as the industry begins to realize the vast IoT opportunity in the manufacturing segment.

From IoT security startup Armis, to connected operational technology company CyberX and more, here are 10 of the coolest Internet of Things startups in 2017 so far.

(For more on the "coolest" of 2017, check out "CRN's Tech Midyear 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 hopes will help it build out its channel program around its agentless IoT security platform.

Augury

CEO: Saar Yoskovitz

Augury, which offers predictive maintenance technology for industrial companies, in June said it had closed $17 million in a Series B funding round to develop strategic partnerships and strengthen its existing OEM relationships.

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.

Bayshore Networks

CEO: Mike Dager

Bayshore Networks wants to focus on one area of IoT that is becoming a larger concern for customers and the channel – industrial security.

The company touts cloud-based software, the Bayshore IT/OT Gateway, to protect industrial enterprises against internet-based attacks. This product provides IT departments with critical visibility into operational technology infrastructure, networks, applications, machines and employees.

The Bethesda, Md.-based company, founded in 2012, said it has raised $6.6 million in Series A funding from Trident Capital Cybersecurity and existing angel investors in 2016.

CyberX

CEO: Omer Schneider

Framingham, Mass.-based CyberX is an industrial cybersecurity company, working with customers in the energy, water, manufacturing, transportation and chemical industries.

CyberX's flagship offering is its XSense platform, which is comprised of a dashboard for managing alerts so that customers have greater control of their industrial operations. The platform helps customers use machine learning and modeling to detect attacks in real time and reduce operation downtime.

The company, founded in 2012, most recently secured $9 million in Series A funding in 2017, led by Flint Capital.

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.

The company in May saidit 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.

Notion

CEO: Brett Jurgens

Connected home startup Notion offers low-cost, customizable sensors that gives users "home awareness" by enabling them to monitor different functions in their home – including if a room is getting too hot or cold, or if a door has been opened.

The company is going to head to head with more expensive traditional home security systems with its own devices – which start at $129.

Denver-based Notion in June secured $10 million in Series A funding in a round led by Draper Nexus and TransLink Capital, with additional participation from existing investors XL Innovate, Mesh VC and others.

PAS

CEO: Eddie Habibi

Startup PAS provides security for industrial control systems – including distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, turbo machinery controls, and compressor control systems.

PAS told CRN it hopes to increase research and development for its flagship software product, Cyber Integrity, which protects critical infrastructure from security risks associated with industrial IoT applications.

The Houston-based company in April announced it has raised $40 million as the company looks to expand its channel program for operational technology security.

Pepper

CEO: Scott Ford

Pepper in March announced it has received a Series B funding round of $8.5 million from an array of investors including Leawood Ventures, the KCRise Fund and Royal Street Ventures.

The IoT platform provider said that its latest funding round would help support the launch of several IoT products in the future, as well as build out global mass market channels in the coming months.

Pepper has created an IoT operating system and service delivery platform that enables enterprises to launch scalable IoT products and services.

"It's exciting to have an elite team of investors as well as our world-class design partner argodesign on board to help make our vision a reality," said Scott Ford, CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based Pepper, in a statement.

Samsara

CEO: Sanjit Biswas

Startup Samsara touts its internet-connected sensor solution, which includes wireless gateways that transmit data to software in the cloud for industrial customers. This software-centric solution 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 from 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 the Internet of Things.