Johnson Controls has acquired
FogHorn, a California-based developer of edge AI software for industrial and commercial IoT applications.
Johnson Controls, which is based in Ireland but has operational headquarters in Glendale, said the acquisition would accelerate its vision for smart autonomous buildings by incorporating FogHorn’s technology into OpenBlue,
JCI’s digital platform for building solutions and services.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Johnson Controls noted in a press release announcing the deal that with more sensors in and data coming from buildings there is more value in processing data and applying intelligence at the edge-level instead of sending it to the cloud.
"Value is increasingly being created by applying intelligence at the edge-device level to create real-time, secure, actionable insights," said Vijay Sankaran, chief technology officer of Johnson Controls
Sastry Malladi, previously chief technology officer of FogHorn, will join JCI and report to Sankaran as vice president, OpenBlue artificial intelligence. FogHorn’s technical team will be integrated into JCI’s OpenBlue Solutions organization. The company’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California will become an “AI Hub” for Johnson Controls.
"We are thrilled to bring the Foghorn team and edge AI capabilities to Johnson Controls and OpenBlue,” Malladi said. "By combining our respective strengths, Johnson Controls can make an even bigger impact on continuing to address some of the world's most pressing challenges of decarbonization, sustainability and energy efficiency, indoor air quality and smart, secure buildings."
In February 2020,
FogHorn announced a $25 million series C funding round led by Korean industrial conglomerate LS Corp. In total, the company had raised $72.5 million from investors, including Forte Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, Intel Capital, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, GE Ventures, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, March Capital Partners and Darling Ventures.
