The world’s largest semiconductor firm Intel joined the smart home (connected home) market where Samsung, Google, and Apple are vying fiercely to get the upper hand.
For the leadership role in the global smart home market whose size is expected to balloon up to 120 trillion won in five years, global IT household names are launching an all-out war. Smart home refers to the service that connects household appliances into a single system.
According to industry sources on February 4, Intel acquired a German smart home startup Lantiq. Intel’s latest move is interpreted as its desire to strengthen its presence in the Internet of Things and smart home businesses.
Samsung, Google, and Apple, which are regarded as top-three players in the global smart home business, are also actively looking for mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their position in the smart home market.
Samsung, for example, acquired a U.S. Internet of Things platform firm SmartThings and a U.S. air conditioner distributor Quietside in the second half of last year.
