by John Orcutt
Apr
2016
15
The revolving IoT Door
Every now and then, someone throws cold water onto the hot hype of IoT. This time, it is Alphabet – Google – Nest delivering the chill. On May 15, support for the Revolv smart home hub ceases…which means the service will be shut down and the hub will no longer function. In the grand scheme of things, that won’t create seismic shocks: by consumer electronics standards, the start-up’s user base was by all accounts small. However, the end of Nest’s support for Revolv is a reminder of the risks taken by early adopters of early technology in early markets. Revolv was in and out the revolving door with speed (my skydiving Partner would say “terminal velocity”).
The start-up raised a little over $7M in financing between 2012 and 2014. Their $300 home automation hub eventually connected to about 75 devices. Revolv was an early partner in Nest’s “Works with Nest” program. In announcing the acquisition, Nest made it clear that they wanted Revolv’s platform and team but would no longer sell the Revolv Hub. As Matt Rogers from Nest told Liz Gannes from Re/code on October 24, 2014 “We are not fans of yet another hub that people should have to worry about. It’s a great team, an unbelievable team.”
Users were promised that their hubs would still work. That commitment is ending, though. As announced recently on the Revolv website, “…we’re pouring all our energy into Works with Nest and are incredibly excited about what we’re making. Unfortunately, that means we can’t allocate resources to Revolv anymore and we have to shut down the service.” This has made some Revolv customers, (understatement ahead) quite vocal in their reaction. If you want to see one example, check out the blog from Arlo Gilbert.
I’m happy that Revolv’s “unbelievable team” found another opportunity that makes them “incredibly excited”. However, I can’t help but feel a little sorry for the people who shelled out $300 and will be left with yet another useless paperweight.
The end of Revolv is yet another reason why the industrial side of IoT, or the Industrial Internet, is a less risky bet for now, which is an idea that we continue to strongly defend at Blue Dots.