LG Electronics Acquires Dutch Smart Home Company Athom

LG Electronics has acquired an 80% stake in Athom, a Dutch smart home company, with plans to acquire the remaining 20% within the next three years. This move aims to enhance LG's connectivity within open smart home ecosystems.

LG will integrate Athom’s technology solutions into its ThinQ platform, providing users with AI-powered tools to control appliances and lighting devices. 

The integration aims to create what LG describes as an “AI-driven home.” In LG's AI home concept, customers will leverage generative AI to manage appliances and IoT devices to create a personalized environment. 

LG said integrating Athom’s tech will provide “deeper insights into customer usage patterns and expedite the delivery of personalized services.”

“The acquisition of Athom is a cornerstone for our AI home business,” said Jung Ki-hyun, head of LG’s platform business center. “By leveraging the synergy between the two companies, we will expand our open ecosystem and external integration services, aiming to provide customers with more diverse and multidimensional space experiences.”

Based in Enschede in The Netherlands, Athom was founded in 2014 and developed Homey, a smart home hub that connects home appliances and IoT devices.

Users can control and automate appliances in their homes through a mobile app. Athom's Homey App Store offers around 1,000 applications for connecting and controlling home devices from brands such as Philips Hue and IKEA. The pro version of Homey can connect to more than 50,000 devices.

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The app also boasts a sizable community of developers who leverage its open platform to expand the range of devices that can be connected to the hub.

Initially focused on Europe, Homey has expanded to the U.S., Singapore, Australia and Canada.

Homey’s integration into the ThinQ platform will enable LG to add third-party device support, with customers able to personalize their homes through generative AI features.

Following the acquisition, Athom will operate independently, maintaining both its brand and business operations. LG said this will enable the business to maximize its growth potential and foster synergies across business and research.

LG’s Athom purchase adds to the company’s goal of helping customers transform their homes with connected devices. 

Earlier this year at CES, the company unveiled a smart home robot designed to automate smart home appliance controls.

“LG is evolving into an intelligent space solutions company that connects and expands experiences in various living spaces,” said William Cho, LG Electronics CEO. “We will continue to make strategic investments to shift our business paradigm, as evidenced by our successive entries into platform-based appliance services and solutions such as the webOS advertising platform and AI home.”

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