UK-based "internet of things" startup EVRYTHNG, has raised a $24.8 million Series B round of funding that it hopes will help it give every physical product a digital identity.
EVRYTHNG works with clients such as Coca-Cola and packaging companies like RBIS, Crown Holdings, and West Rock to connect consumer products to the web as soon as they are manufactured.
The company describes itself as a data management platform that allows businesses to have a more complete overview of their supply chain by assigning digital identities to products, allowing them to be tracked.
Consumers can also interact with those products — via QR codes, or wirelessly inserted chips that are compatible with NFC or RFID technology — to found out more about the item or partake in loyalty schemes. In some cases, they can also control the items with platforms like Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home.
EVRYTHING's platform currently manages more than 500 million digital identities, but it hopes the latest investment — which brings its total funding to date up to $34.8 million — will help it expand that number into the billions.
Niall Murphy, EVYRTHNG cofounder and CEO, told Business Insider: "We called the company 'EVRYTHNG' because we wanted to manage the digital identity of all the products in the world and that mission and vision is what we are after. To get there we have to build a relationship with product manufacturers and a tighter integration with the way products are built and sold so we can build at scale."
Asked where he thinks "internet of things" sits on the Gartner Hype Cycle — a research methodology that describes the five phases of a technology's life cycle — Murphy said: "That chasm is being crossed. We find we are talking about 'internet of things' terminology more now in a practical operating language like 'supply chain analytics' and 'just-in-time replenishment'. It doesn't mean that 'internet of things' is unimportant but now there is a new application opportunity."
That differs, he said, to something like blockchain.
"Everyone wants to attach blockchain to everything. It's in the hype level, definitely on the ascendance, and maybe it's peaked already — but there's not much application. With 'internet of things' I think it's moved from being a tech theme to being an application," Murphy added.
Murphy said EVRYTHNG will use its latest round of funding to grow the company's staff from its current 58 employees by another "15% to 20%" in the next 12 to 18 months across both London and New York. The investment will also go towards "market development, technology innovation, and IP development," he added.
The Series B round was led by Sway Ventures and also included participation from new investors BLOC Ventures and Generation Ventures. Other EVRYTHNG backers including Cisco Investments, Samsung, BHLP, Atomico, Dawn Capital, and Advance Vixeid Partners.
