Aeris and Ericsson Join Together to Create IoT Leader

• Aeris Communications and Ericsson are joining together to create a leader in the fast-growing IoT industry
• Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses, and related assets, to be transferred to Aeris Communications. Ericsson will hold a minority stake in the new Aeris.
• The transaction aims to create strong industry synergies, accelerate IoT growth and further simplify IoT for enterprises and create new opportunities for service providers
• Employees from the two Ericsson businesses will become part of Aeris at the closing of the transaction which is expected in Q1 of 2023

San Jose, CA — Aeris Communications, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider based in San Jose, California, and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have signed an agreement for the transfer of Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses.

The combination of Aeris and Ericsson’s IoT platforms will connect over 100 million IoT devices worldwide, covering 190 countries, and provide IoT connectivity, software and solutions to thousands of enterprises. The new Aeris will be able to offer an extensive IoT technology stack, brought to the market through a strong ecosystem of channel partners, communications service providers (CSPs) and our direct sales organizations.

Åsa Tamsons, Head of Business Area Technologies & New Businesses at Ericsson, stated: “Aeris has been successful in extending its IoT solution offering beyond connectivity and has the right focus, assets, and capabilities to realize the full potential of Ericsson’s IoT business and its strong market presence. Despite significant investments to address the fragmentation of the IoT market, Ericsson has only tapped into a limited part of the value chain, limiting the returns of such investments. The combined business will offer an unparalleled IoT platform for enterprises and new revenue streams for communication service providers, ultimately benefiting Ericsson’s customers. Aeris is a good home for our IoT business.”

With the cellular IoT market being a rather fragmented sector, a consolidation of two industry leading players is expected to accelerate the IoT market overall. IoT will be a fundamental and growing part of the 4G and 5G market.

Marc Jones, Chairman and CEO of Aeris, commented: “Building the best technology to support the success of our customers and driving innovation in the IoT space have always been at the forefront for Aeris. Our intelligent, software-defined IoT network and Ericsson’s leading connectivity management platform will provide the foundation to become a leading IoT technology stack in the industry. We look forward to bringing new, transformational IoT solutions and Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud products to our customers.”

Aeris Communications provides businesses with intelligent IoT cellular connectivity, security, reliability, and support to simplify and streamline IoT programs at scale. The company addresses industries such as transport, automotive, energy, healthcare among others and has helped thousands of customers to deploy and manage their IoT programs end-to-end.

Ericsson IoT Accelerator is used by more than 9,000 enterprises to manage more than 95 million connected devices with 20 million eSIM connections globally. These enterprises and connections leverage Ericsson’s growing ecosystem of over 35 communication service provider partners for global cellular connectivity.

Connected Vehicle Cloud is the most complete connected car platform on the market today, with frontrunners in automotive IoT using it to connect six million vehicles and counting across 180 countries.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 and includes the transfer of employees from Ericsson to Aeris. In addition, Ericsson intends to support Aeris with transition services and will acquire a minority stake in the company.