A local Pakistani startup, Smart Devices, has been acquired by Orient’s Internet of Things (IoT) division. The agreement was reached as a result of mutual understanding between Abdul Rehman Talat, Director of Sales and Marketing at Orient Electronics and Abdul Ghaffar, CEO of Smart Devices.
What is Smart Devices?
Smart Devices is a local IoT startup which allows users to control any electronic device in their home or office using a simple mobile app, cloud dashboard or a browser extension from anywhere in the world. It works by providing smart switchboards which replace existing switchboards in the home or office and connect to the home Wi-Fi router.
IoT is a multi-billion dollar industry which has seen a lot of attention and development by many tech giants in the past few years. IoT is expected to be the next big thing in the field of technology.
Acquisition details
Smart Devices is acquired by BlueEast, the research and development wing of Orient Electronics. BlueEast had been monitoring Smart Devices for over a year and ultimately decided that it was a venture worth investing in. Speaking about the acquisition, Abdul Rehman Talat, Director of Sales and Marketing at Orient Electronics, said:
“We have been monitoring Smart Devices and Abdul Ghaffar for about a year now. They have been without a doubt been the most promising startup in IoT, in Pakistan. Smart Devices is the only local company that has a finished product. It’s a company that shares our vision of a connected Pakistan; we want to expand the horizons on a person to machine and machine to person interactions. Acquiring Smart Devices has allowed us to pool our resources and further our progress on our shared end goal.”
CEO of Smart Devices, Abdul Ghaffar, expressed his thoughts on this occasion as:
“Smart Devices acquisition is the first of its kind in the region, and with an industrial giant like Orient acquiring it, this proves Pakistan is ready for advanced tech like IoT. I think it’s high time for IoT players to work together and create a better and common ecosystem.”
