Nokia Acquires Internet of Things Startup SpaceTime Insight

Nokia on Monday said it has acquired California-based startup SpaceTime Insight to expand its Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio and IoT analytics capabilities.

SpaceTime Insight provides machine learning-powered analytics and IoT applications for some of the world's largest transportation, energy and utilities organisations, including Entergy, FedEx, NextEra Energy, Singapore Power and Union Pacific Railroad. Besides the US, the company has offices in India, Canada, UK and Japan.

Designed specifically for asset-intensive industries, the machine learning models and other advanced analytics of SpaceTime Insight predict asset health with a high degree of accuracy and optimise related operations, thereby helping its customers cut cost and risk, while increasing operational efficiencies and reducing service outages.

Without divulging the terms of the deal, Nokia said the acquisition will accelerate the development of the company's IoT offerings to deliver high-value IoT applications and services to new and existing customers.

"Adding SpaceTime to Nokia Software is a strong step forward in our strategy, and will help us deliver a new class of intelligent solutions to meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected world," Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia Software, said in a statement.

"Together, we can empower customers to realise the full value of their people, processes and assets, and enable them to deliver rich, world-class digital experiences," Gorti added.

The addition of SpaceTime Insight will also broaden the company's ability to deliver new, advanced applications for key vertical markets, including energy, logistics, transportation and utilities, the Finnish telecom equipment-maker said.

Rob Schilling, who had been CEO of SpaceTime, will become the head of Nokia's IoT unit, TechCrunch reported. IoT today is a fairly small part of Nokia's business, the report added.