Kore looks to build first IoT hyperscaler status with Twilio IoT acquisition

Having noted over the past year a paradigm shift in how technology companies will move forward in the decade of the internet of things (IoT) – citing the divestiture of IoT business units by companies such as Google Cloud, Amazon and Ericsson, plus new partnerships formed to better support the delivery and scaling of IoT – Kore has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Twilio’s IoT business unit.

Kore describes itself as a leader in delivering mission-critical IoT services, claiming its IoT knowledge and experience, global reach, purpose-built services, and deployment agility can accelerate and materially impact business outcomes.

Having observed IoT adoption “explode” in all industries, Kore sees the acquisition of Twilio’s IoT unit as part of a growth strategy to provide customers with a “unified, seamless” approach to launching IoT offerings as the world’s leading pure-play IoT provider. As consideration for the acquisition, Twilio will receive 10 million shares of Kore common stock, which will represent approximately 11.5% of Kore’s issued and outstanding shares.

The acquisition aims to bring to market what Kore assures will be a new connectivity suite, including “best-in-class” eSIM technologies with Kore OmniSIM and Twilio Super SIM, and what is called a one-stop-shop for building, deploying, managing and scaling IoT operations throughout the entire lifecycle via “award-winning” technologies and “world-class’ facilities.

It is also said to deliver accelerated time to market through global, 24/7 customer support and 20 years of IoT experience through Kore and the Twilio IoT team’s depth and breadth of digital experience.

“IoT has immense potential to change the world,” said Kore president and CEO Romil Bahl. “Whether it is ushering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, supporting chronic disease management through remote patient monitoring, or optimising agriculture and supporting sustainability, IoT has many powerful applications.

“Combining the digital prowess of Twilio’s IoT business and the comprehensive connectivity-solutions-analytics portfolio of Kore is a meaningful step towards proliferating IoT and making it more accessible and successful. This acquisition represents exactly the kind of investment we have said we are willing to make to become an exciting top-line growth company, and specifically, we will benefit from the world-class digital experience and developer community Twilio has built for its IoT business.”

Taylor Wolfe, Twilio head of IoT, said: “We are just scratching the surface of the opportunities IoT can unlock for customers. As a global leader in IoT, Kore has the right expertise, vision and technology to expand the robust offerings that Twilio’s world-class IoT team has built. Kore is the right home for Twilio’s IoT business, and we look forward to this acquisition increasing scalability and creating even more powerful business outcomes for our customers going forward.” 

Completion of the acquisition transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among other things, the negotiation and execution of certain ancillary agreements.