IoT Deals and Partnerships: Nvidia, Rockwell, Virgin Pulse and More

From Nvidia’s partnership with Stereolabs to create a smart robot navigation system, to Rockwell Automation’s acquisition of Verve Industrial Protection and Virgin Pulse’s collaboration with AWS to improve user experience for its health and well-being platform, here are some of the latest deals and partnerships from the world of IoT.

Nvidia, Stereolabs Partner to Accelerate Smart Robot Navigation

Stereolabs, a vision-based sensing technology company, is integrating its ZED SDK and ZED X stereo cameras in Nvidia’s Isaac Sim, a simulation application for developing, testing and managing AI-based robots. 

These cameras are also now compatible with Nvidia Isaac ROS.

The companies said the collaboration comes as demand for autonomous robots is on the rise, as a result of ongoing labor shortages and supply chain issues. In light of this, simulation platforms are gaining popularity to allow developers to design and test hardware stacks rapidly and safely, enabling significant time and resource savings. 

"Simulation is the future of robotics engineering," said Cecile Schmollgruber, Stereolabs’ CEO. "By using Stereolab cameras integrated with Nvidia Isaac Sim, developers and engineers will be able to experiment with stereovision in a virtual environment for the first time and build space-aware applications before ever attaching a real camera to a real robot. 

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“This capability will empower developers and engineers to design, develop and test autonomous robots in much faster cycles to save massively on resources and obtain the best results in the real world."

ZED X model in a warehouse simulated in NVIDIA Isaac Sim

Rockwell Automation to Acquire Verve Industrial Protection

Rockwell Automation has signed an agreement to acquire Verve Industrial Protection, a cybersecurity software and services company with a particular focus on industrial environments.

According to Rockwell, the Verve Security Center platform enables real-time asset inventory, vulnerability management, and risk remediation that addresses ongoing challenges with rising operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) attacks.

“The foundation of OT cybersecurity starts with visibility into assets – you can’t protect what you don’t know you have. This continues to be a critical challenge for manufacturers,” said Matt Fordenwalt, Rockwell’s senior vice president of lifecycle services. “With the Verve acquisition, our customers can quickly assess their assets, prioritize risk, and apply countermeasures to mitigate vulnerabilities – all within a single platform.” 

The Verve Security Center platform gathers and aggregates critical security information without impacting network performance, creating a “single pane of glass” that provides actionable insight to address customers’ high-risk assets.

“Our platform has helped clients mitigate thousands of vulnerabilities and is an important addition to Rockwell’s OT cybersecurity solutions, providing actionable intelligence to quickly mitigate cybersecurity risks, so that manufacturing facilities can stay up and running,” said John Livingston, Verve Industrial’s CEO.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Rockwell’s 2024 fiscal year. 

Virgin Pulse, AWS Partner to Accelerate Homebase for Health Platform Innovation and User Experience

Virgin Pulse has announced a long-term strategic initiative with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support the innovation, growth and performance of Virgin Pulse's health and well-being platform.

The announcement follows the news that Virgin Pulse intends to merge with HealthComp, backed by New Mountain Capital, Marlin Equity Partners, Blackstone and Morgan Health.

Virgin Pulse said it will leverage AWS's cloud capabilities, including generative AI, machine learning and analytics, to enable advanced personalization across its Homebase for Health platform. 

The cloud-native health and well-being platform is powered by Virgin’s personalization engine, which creates a holistic view of individuals and generates millions of actionable insights. 

According to Virgin, by analyzing health and lifestyle data, the platform can “predict members' needs and preferences to create healthy habits, close critical care gaps, and drive sustained engagement”.

"Virgin Pulse prides itself on delivering a personalized, user-friendly experience that motivates people, driving measurable outcomes and results," said Amit Jain, Virgin Pulse’s CTO. "AWS is helping us scale for our growing global client and member base, providing a reliable cloud-based platform with advanced capabilities and supporting services."

Accenture Acquires MNEMO Mexico, Expands Cybersecurity Services 

Accenture has acquired MNEMO Mexico, a cybersecurity services company. 

MNEMO Mexico’s portfolio includes advanced cyber defense and response capabilities, as well as a cyber intelligence platform powered by generative AI. Its client base covers multiple industries, including telecommunications, banking and insurance.

“The combination of MNEMO Mexico’s managed cybersecurity services, extensive industry expertise and strong client base makes them an ideal partner to complement our existing capabilities,” said Paolo Dal Cin, Accenture Security’s global lead. “The addition of MNEMO Mexico’s team will help us grow our business in Mexico, expand our presence in Latin America and support our North America business. 

“Together, we will help organizations build more cyber-resilient businesses and secure their digital cores, technologies and supply chains.”

AI Robotics Company Electric Sheep Acquires Phenix Landscape, Complete Landscaping

Electric Sheep has acquired landscaping companies Phenix Landscape and Complete Landscaping.

The acquisitions come as Electric Sheep is working to create the first large-scale outdoor maintenance company powered by artificial intelligence and robotics.

“The businesses we are focused on right now have great facilities, a strong team, well-maintained equipment, and a solid customer base where we can automate operations and expand,” said Jarrett Herold, Electric Sheep’s COO. “We are excited to integrate and inject our AI-based robots into these businesses under Electric Sheep to really accelerate efficiencies on customer sites.” 

Electric Sheep’s pipeline of landscaping robots is designed to automate various physical tasks such as mowing and sweeping, as well as logistic tasks like inventory management, customer success and marketing. 

“We are building Large World Models (LWMs) to power robots with an AI brain so they can work in all types of outdoor environments,” said Nag Murty, Electric Sheep’s CEO. “What Open AI did with language, Electric Sheep wants to do for outdoor robotics - under the aircover of a profitable business model.”

Electric Sheep's advanced AI robotics technology

Pole Star Global Acquires StratumFive Group, Expands Fleet Monitoring

Pole Star Global has acquired maritime tech company StratumFive.

With the acquisition, Pole Star Global gains StratumFive’s Podium5, a voyage informatics platform that brings together fleet monitoring, regulatory compliance, performance analytics and voyage optimization into one platform.

"The Podium5 platform not only enhances our capabilities in vital voyage analytics but also accelerates our efforts with vessel emissions transparency and planning, which is critical as we enable trusted partners throughout the maritime network," said Bob Skea, Pole Star Global’s CEO.

“This partnership will allow us to accelerate the development of innovative solutions that will further transform the maritime industry,” said Stuart Nichols, StratumFive Group’s founder. “Together, we will continue to provide our customers with the best-in-class services and support they expect." 

Alectra to Deploy Itron’s Distributed Intelligence Technology for Grid Modernization  

Alectra has selected Itron to provide its multi-purpose industrial IoT (IIoT) network solution and utility management software suite, Utility IQ, to modernize the utility’s electric distribution grid performance.

Utility IQ is designed to help collect and manage electricity consumption data and enable real-time decision-making.

Itron’s next-generation meter technology has distributed intelligence and grid edge capabilities, allowing utilities to transform operations through edge computing capabilities that allow for visibility and control in low and medium-voltage distribution networks. 

“The decision to renew our end-of-life metering infrastructure comes at an important time when advancements in technology are paving the way for a modernized grid,” said Shelley Parker, vice president of metering at Alectra. “Together with Itron, we are preparing to meet the demands of increased electrification, empowering customers to manage their energy requirements and costs, and advancing energy sustainability.”

floLIVE, Kigen Collaborate with Protahub to provide IoT Cellular Connectivity in Turkey

floLIVE, Kigen and Protahub are collaborating to provide local IoT connectivity services in Turkey.

floLIVE and Kigen have built the ecosystem over the past few months, teaming up with Turkish company Protahub to control local eSIM subscription profiles, creating a complete, end-to-end solution that will allow OEMs, global enterprises and mobile operators to obtain local IoT connectivity in Turkey using their existing SIMs. 

“Traditionally, anyone who needed connectivity in Turkey had to approach the mobile network operators (MNO) in-region directly and purchase SIM cards to install in their devices,” said Nir Shalom, floLIVE’s CEO. “They needed to engage in a separate contract with the local MNO, use separate APIs for integration, and at the end of the day they ended up with very limited management and control…floLIVE…offers a streamlined, unified global experience.”

“floLIVE and Kigen…are looking to replicate this success in other regions so that global deployments are achievable with a single SKU and a unified experience,” said Vincent Korstanje, Kigen’s CEO. “With an eSIM, you have a strong foundation for trusted devices across multiple geographies, while complying with the local regulations.”