Accelerate Fund II invests in mcThings making IIoT easy to implement, at low cost, for any business

CALGARY, AB, July 9, 2018 – Accelerate Fund II is investing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions provider mcThings. The mcThings platform makes it easy and affordable for customers to create and deploy unique IIoT solutions in just days, managing up to thousands of devices. Utilizing ultra-low power battery operated sensors; mcThings provides the lowest total cost of ownership IIoT solutions available.

mcThings customers and partners include Microsoft, SNC-Lavalin, GE and Schneider Electric as well as many small and mid-sized businesses. The company will use the early stage investment from Accelerate Fund II to continue its growth, scaling sales capacity to meet demand.

“Awareness of IoT has increased rapidly over last two to three years, and many diverse industries now comprehend the potential cost savings and efficiencies that are possible,” said Tom Groenland, CEO of mcThings. “What businesses are seeking now, is a fast and affordable method to take advantage of IoT, one that ties into their existing data and IT infrastructure.”

The mcThings platform equips businesses to rapidly and affordably deploy IIoT by combining low-cost, battery-powered IIoT, field programmable sensors, network gateways, and a cloud based device management and security platform. Data gathered from the devices is accessed by the customer’s cloud database and application of choice. Customers can work with mcThings to deploy IIoT, or have their own IT teams use the device management tools to setup what data to monitor, such as temperature or motion, and what alerts or actions the devices should trigger. Even large-scale implementation costs are affordable, as sensors are inexpensive and the ultra-low power devices can relay data for 5 to 10 years on a single coin cell battery.

“mcThings has found a way to bring IIoT to the mass market by creating their own firmware Operating System that makes it easy for developers to configure and optimize their sensors without requiring in-depth firmware coding expertise,” says Nate Glubish, Investment Manager for Accelerate Fund II. “By overcoming the technical implementation barrier, and making IIoT affordable, mcThings has made it possible not just for large enterprises, but for any businesses to adopt IIoT to help realize business efficiencies and performance gains.”

Use-cases for mcThings IIoT solutions include diverse industries ranging from food and beverage through to construction and equipment rentals. One customer in facilities management uses mcThings’ IIoT solutions to monitor cooler and freezer temperature to prevent damage to items stored. Another customer uses mcThings for livestock health monitoring. Municipalities seeking to be Smart cities, can use mcThings to measure the weight or load of a garbage bin to schedule bin pickups only when they are full, saving labour and fuel costs, and reducing emissions.

Today, mcThings has the capacity to manufacture 100,000 devices per month at its production facility in Cochrane, Alberta where the company is based. With in-house manufacturing, the company is able to rapid iterate new products and is proud to be keeping both development and manufacturing of the proprietary technology in Canada.

About mcThings
mcThings provides affordable Internet of Things solutions to businesses of all sizes and has fast become a global leader in the wireless, ultra-low-power IoT space. Offering both off-the-shelf and custom IoT hardware solutions, businesses can attach devices to equipment or assets and begin tracking sensory and spatial data in just days or weeks yielding a rapid ROI. mcThings’ ultra-low-power hardware lasts 5 to 10 years on batteries, scales to millions, and offers asset tracking and sensor solutions at the lowest total cost of ownership available in today’s IoT marketplace. Working closely with the best-in-class cloud, network, and distribution partners, mcThings ensures that all businesses are empowered to deploy IoT solutions quickly and economically regardless of their industry, application, or vertical. www.mcthings.com

About The Accelerate Fund II

Accelerate Fund II is an early-stage angel co-investment fund in Alberta. We co-invest alongside angel investors in financing rounds and will typically invest up to $500,000 on the same terms and conditions as private investors. We work with formal angel groups, super-angels, family funds, and individual angel investors. Accelerate Fund II invests in private, early-stage Alberta companies in knowledge-based industries including: information and communications technology, clean and energy technology, as well as life sciences, including agriculture and biotech. Accelerate Fund II is managed by Yaletown Partners with the support of The A100. Alberta Enterprise Corporation is Accelerate Fund II’s Limited Partner. www.acceleratefund.ca 

Media Inquiries:

Accelerate Fund II/Yaletown Partners
Claudia Moore
Material Insight
Phone: 403.703.0029
Email: Claudia @ materialinsight.com