Eco Investor June 2016

Unlisted Companies

GE Buys Daintree Networks

Daintree Networks, an Australian start-up with building automation and energy efficiency solutions, has been acquired by US giant, GE.

The acquisition is by Current, an energy start-up within GE. Current utilizes GE's LED and onsite power businesses and the GE Predix platform to deliver a cost effective energy management platform for clients. The Predix platform can securely connect third party devices and assets to the Industrial Internet.

The acquisition of Daintree Networks will enable Current to transform buildings from being idle to being intelligent, it said.

Daintree Networks has market leading smart solutions for commercial buildings and Enterprise Internet of Things (E-IoT) applications. Its ControlScope is a networked wireless solution for lighting and building control, monitoring, and optimization. It reduces energy and operating costs, improves the occupant experience, increases productivity and can manage a large portfolio of buildings. It can also be a platform for third party applications in asset management and space planning.

The companies said their joint solution links data from lighting and HVAC systems directly to Predix and allows customers to analyze their energy consumption and identify data patterns to increase efficiency, lower their energy use and reduce their environmental footprint. This will make wireless enterprise Industrial Internet solutions for energy management and intelligent environment applications faster, easier and more affordable.

"By combining Daintree's open-standard control and sensing technology with GE's Predix platform, Current's building automation platform and its energy-as-a-service offerings, we'll deliver the industry's first next-generation, scalable cloud-based energy management and facilities optimization platform for every building type and size," said Maryrose Sylvester, president and chief executive of Current.

This means the combined offer will also bring the benefits of building automation systems to small to mid-sized buildings. GE said that 90 per cent of the world's small to mid-sized buildings do not have building automation systems. GE's access to global markets is expected to boost the growth and adoption of Daintree's Australian-made technologies.

From its Australian beginnings, Daintree is now headquartered in Silicon Valley and services Fortune 500 and mid-size enterprises across North America which use its technology to manage over one million lights, thermostats, and sensors in office, retail and industrial buildings. This delivers monthly lighting and HVAC energy cost savings of up to 60 per cent.

"Daintree Networks is a great example of Australian technology innovation at the heart of the Industrial Internet," said Geoff Culbert, president and chief executive of GE Australia & NZ.

Eco Investor first wrote about Daintree Networks in April 2010 when it received a $9 million (US$8 million) investment from Lend Lease Ventures.

Unfortunately, neither GE nor Daintree gave any financial details about the acquisition.

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