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LG ACQUIRES ATHOM TO ADVANCE AI-ENABLED INTELLIGENT SPACE BUSINESS

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Company to Gain Deeper Insights Into Customers’ Lifestyle and Usage Patterns and Accelerate LG ThinQ AI Home Business

SEOUL, South Korea, July 8, 2024 /CNW/ — LG Electronics (LG) recently acquired an 80 percent stake in Athom, an industry-leading smart home platform company based in Enschede, Netherlands. The agreement includes plans to acquire the remaining 20 percent within the next three years. This strategic move aims to enhance LG’s connectivity within open smart home ecosystems. By integrating Athom’s capabilities with LG’s Affectionate Intelligence technology, LG aspires to lead the AI-driven home innovation era.

LG plans to integrate Athom’s extensive connectivity – which links thousands of appliances, sensors and lighting devices – with the generative AI-enabled LG ThinQ platform. This integration aims to create an AI home that delivers optimal space solutions by gaining a deeper understanding of the customer. In LG’s AI home, customers will engage with generative AI, which will manage appliances and IoT devices to create a personalized environment tailored to their preferences.

LG envisions expanding the differentiated customer experience of AI homes to various spaces where customers spend their time, such as commercial spaces and mobility environments, ultimately realizing and advancing the concept of ‘Intelligent Space.’

Athom is a technology company that sells the smart home hub ‘Homey,’ which connects with home appliances and IoT devices, and also offers cloud subscription services. Founded in 2014, ‘Homey’ has expanded primarily in Europe over the past decade, gaining a loyal customer base of hundreds of thousands of users. As of 2023, Homey devices are available in Australia, Singapore, the US and Canada, in addition to Europe. 

Athom has developed its own hub and OS to create an independent smart home ecosystem. Its flagship product, Homey Pro, can connect to more than 50,000 devices and supports various connection methods, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Matter and Thread, making it highly versatile and open.

The Homey App Store, managed by Athom, offers around 1,000 applications for connecting and controlling home devices from brands such as Philips Hue and IKEA. Many of these applications are based on official partnerships, alongside a large number of apps developed by the Homey community. This community of developers actively contributes to Athom’s open platform, continuously expanding the range of brands and devices that can be connected to the hub. Users can easily create a smart home environment by downloading apps from the store and linking their devices.

LG is poised to significantly enhance the scalability required for implementing AI homes, aiming to achieve the highest industry standards. This will be accomplished by integrating its LG ThinQ platform’s smart home technology with Athom’s open ecosystem and IoT device connectivity. The acquisition of Athom is particularly noteworthy, as it will enable LG to incorporate third-party devices and services into its ecosystem. This integration will provide LG with 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, executive vice president and 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.”

Even after the acquisition, Athom will continue to operate independently, maintaining its business operations and branding. This strategy is designed to maximize Athom’s growth potential and unique strengths while fostering synergies in business, research and development capabilities, and platform utilization.

LG’s introduction of the AI home, which integrates Athom’s open smart home platform with its own AI technology, underscores the company’s commitment to transitioning from a hardware-focused to a software-based platform business. In 2021, LG expanded its TV business from hardware to software by entering the TV platform market with its webOS platform. To support this shift, LG acquired Alphonso, a US-based global technology company specializing in television media, machine learning and big-data analytics. Alphonso now operates as LG Ad Solutions, a core component of the webOS content and service business.

LG aims to establish continuous relationships with customers through numerous devices connected to the AI home, ultimately transforming into a ‘Smart Life Solution Company’ that provides differentiated value.

According to market research firm TechNavio, the global smart home market is projected to grow from USD 81.2 billion in 2023 to USD 260.24 billion by 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 26.23 percent.

“LG is evolving into an intelligent space solutions company that connects and expands experiences in various living spaces. 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,” said William Cho, CEO of LG Electronics.

About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics is a global innovator in technology and consumer electronics with a presence in almost every country and an international workforce of more than 74,000. LG’s four companies – Home Appliance & Air Solution, Home Entertainment, Vehicle component Solutions and Business Solutions – combined for global revenue of over KRW 84 trillion in 2023. LG is a leading manufacturer of consumer and commercial products ranging from TVs, home appliances, air solutions, monitors, automotive components and solutions, and its premium LG SIGNATURE and intelligent LG ThinQ brands are familiar names world over. Visit www.LGnewsroom.com for the latest news.

 

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SOURCE LG Electronics

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Orium and JIBE Partner to Bring Modern Commerce Solutions to More Businesses

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TORONTO, Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Orium, the leading composable commerce specialist in the Americas, today announced a strategic investment in JIBE, a digital commerce agency known for its expertise in developing modern commerce solutions on the Shopify platform. This investment strengthens an already successful partnership, including shared clients like the fast-growing Leggings.com, and positions the two companies to expand their reach as sister firms. By combining Orium’s focus on complex enterprise clients with JIBE’s expertise in the mid-market, the two businesses will better support brands at any stage of their commerce journey, helping them adapt and scale with composable technologies.

“Orium and JIBE are united by a shared goal: helping businesses succeed with modern commerce technology,” said Jason Cottrell, CEO and Founder of Orium. “This partnership allows us to offer solutions that are flexible, scalable, and tailored to the unique needs of businesses at the mid-market and enterprise-level. Our shared expertise ensures we’re positioned to support clients in navigating the rapidly evolving commerce landscape.”

Orium and JIBE bring complementary strengths to their engagements, combining Orium’s deep expertise in modern headless and composable commerce architectures with JIBE’s specialized Shopify solution engineering. Together, they offer clients the proven ability to deliver tailored, scalable solutions. Their partnership leverages advanced modular and API-first technologies to drive innovation and help businesses achieve growth and agility, regardless of their starting point.

“This partnership enables us to address the unique needs of mid-market businesses, an often underserved segment that demands both expertise and agility,” said Steve Krueger, CEO of JIBE. “With Orium’s enterprise commerce expertise and JIBE’s proven strength in the mid-market, we’re enhancing our ability to serve both scale-ups and enterprise brands.”

By offering specialized services tailored to different business needs, Orium and JIBE are setting a new standard in modern commerce, empowering clients like Leggings.com to meet evolving customer expectations and achieve their goals.

About Orium

Orium is the leading composable commerce specialist in the Americas, helping businesses build flexible, future-ready technology architectures. Specializing in helping brands scale efficiently with deep capabilities in data-driven experience design, AI implementation, and platform engineering, Orium brings over a decade of award-winning experience to enterprise commerce engagements. Orium works closely with best-in-class technology partners to bring modern commerce experiences to life. Orium is a certified B Corp and part of Tercera‘s portfolio of leading professional services firms. More information can be found at www.orium.com.

About JIBE

Since 2009, mid-market brands and founders have entrusted JIBE to strengthen their ecommerce performance with expertise, dedication, and measurable success. By partnering with renowned brands such as Arc’teryx, 7mesh, Aspen Clean, Myodetox, Grouse Mountain, Nest Designs, and Organika, JIBE fosters true collaborations to plan, build, execute, and scale multi-channel, ecommerce-driven businesses. More information can be found at thejibe.com.

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SOURCE Orium

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Pikmykid Acquires Visitu to Enhance School Visitor Management Solutions

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TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pikmykid, the leading school safety platform, is proud to announce the acquisition of Visitu, a cutting-edge visitor management system. This strategic acquisition bolsters Pikmykid’s capabilities in visitor management while advancing its mission to enhance school safety and operational efficiency.

As schools increasingly focus on safety, the addition of Visitu’s visitor and attendance management tools enables Pikmykid to offer a comprehensive solution for managing every aspect of campus safety. From the moment staff, students, parents, volunteers, visitors, and contractors enter the campus to the time students leave safely at the end of the day, Pikmykid now provides an end-to-end platform that prioritizes safety and efficiency.

“Our school’s operations and facilities teams are excited for the potential of even smoother and more effective integration between Visitu and Pikmykid, two solid systems we use to enhance safety at our campuses,” said Eric Neumann, Sr Director of School Operations at Rocketship Charter Schools. “We look forward to continued partnership to further improve our school arrival and dismissal systems, campus security, and overall staff, family, and student experiences!”

“Acquiring Visitu is a transformative milestone in our mission to redefine school safety,” said Saravana Pat Bhava, CEO of Pikmykid. “With the power of one unified platform, we are now able to provide schools with an integrated solution that enhances security while elevating the visitor and community experience”

“Empowering schools with tools that enhance staff efficiency and parent engagement is critical to improving student outcomes,” added Chitra Kanagaraj, COO. “By uniting all safety and engagement tools, we enable schools and districts to focus on what matters most—student success.”

Visitu’s technology allows schools to easily track and manage visitors in real-time, ensuring that only authorized individuals are on campus. This integration will complement Pikmykid’s existing solutions for student drop-off and pick-up, creating a holistic approach to school safety and operations.

“Visitu’s vision to make safety seamless on campus aligns perfectly with Pikmykid,” said Aaron Larkins, CEO of Visitu. “Together, we will continue to invest in simplifying administrative processes.”

Todd Broyles, founder of Visitu, added, “This partnership will revolutionize how schools manage student safety throughout the entire school day, offering comprehensive solutions that address every aspect of campus security. We’re excited to join Pikmykid’s mission to provide innovative tools and enhance school safety.”

Schools can expect the rollout of enhanced features and functionalities in the coming months. Both teams are dedicated to fostering innovation in school safety and operational excellence.

For more information about the acquisition and the expanded offerings from Pikmykid, please visit pikmykid.com and visitu.com.

About Pikmykid

Pikmykid is a comprehensive, cloud-based platform revolutionizing school operations and student safety. Designed to address the diverse needs of modern schools, Pikmykid offers robust features including dismissal management, attendance tracking, hall pass solutions, real-time messaging, emergency response tools, and reunification processes. Trusted by schools nationwide, Pikmykid simplifies the complexities of daily and emergency operations, ensuring safety and efficiency are at the forefront of every interaction.

About Visitu
Visitu is a recognized leader in providing complete safe campus solutions for schools, offering a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance safety, efficiency, and communication. The safe campus platform includes solutions for visitor management, student attendance, emergency response, and school communication, all designed to create a secure and well-connected campus environment. Visitu’s solutions ensure compliance with safety standards while supporting seamless school operations.

Contact:
Michelle Kristoff
***@pikmykid.com

Photos:
https://www.prlog.org/13055630

Press release distributed by PRLog

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SOURCE Pikmykid

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Newsweek Ranks EPAM Among Top 5 in IT Services & Consulting on its 2025 Excellence 1000 Index

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NEWTOWN, Pa., Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company, today announced it has been recognized by Newsweek in its 2nd annual rankings for the Excellence 1000 Index—ranking #754 overall and in the Top 5 for IT Services and IT Consulting.

The 2025 Excellence 1000 Index is the result of a collaboration between Newsweek and the Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company. The Excellence 1000 Index is a list of the top 1000 companies that have demonstrated best practices in financial responsibility, stakeholder ratings and social responsibility ratings.

“We are honored to be acknowledged among the world’s most esteemed organizations for our unwavering commitment to our clients, employees, engineering & IT excellence, sustainability and social responsibility,” said Elaina Shekhter, SVP, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at EPAM. “As a trusted partner for clients globally, we are excited to continue delivering innovative and transformative solutions to our clients’ most challenging problems through our robust capabilities in digital, AI, GenAI, Data, cloud, and engineering to deliver business value.”

The results were determined after the Best Practice Institute analyzed over half a million data points and created a proprietary scoring system to measure everything from financial practices to customer reviews, ESG commitments and more.

“Corporate success today goes beyond financial performance,” said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief of Newsweek. “The Excellence 1000 Index honors companies that balance strategic growth with a deep commitment to ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability. Together with our partner Best Practice Institute, we are proud to recognize these organizations redefining leadership in the corporate world.”

Companies have been assessed on several pivotal criteria, including:

Employee Rating: How employees perceive their employer through sentiment and emotion analysis.Customer Rating: How clients view the Company’s products, services and ethics.ESG Risk Rating & Ethical Impact: A deep dive into a company’s environmental, social, and governance practices.ISO Standards Adherence: Compliance with international quality and safety standards.R&D Spending: Investment in innovation and the future.Global Compact Status: Alignment with the UN’s principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

“In an era where narratives often overshadow facts, the 2025 Newsweek Excellence 1000 Index stands as a testament to the importance of verified impact and ethical leadership,” said Louis Carter, CEO of Best Practice Institute. “This year’s honorees exemplify what it means to prioritize innovation, sustainability, and stakeholder value over tradition and superficial metrics. By recognizing these trailblazers, we aim to inspire a new standard for evaluating corporate success—one that values measurable progress and integrity above all.”

EPAM is considered a “Most Loved Workplace” by Newsweek, appearing on their list of Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces for the last four years. Additionally, the Company’s ESG initiatives have been recognized by many prominent global organizations, including the 2024 Inclusive Excellence Award, 2024 SEAL Sustainable Excellence Award and voted Top Most Loved Places for Volunteers®. In 2024, EPAM invested in innovation and the future with the acquisitions of First Derivative, Neoris, Odysseus Data Services and Vates—increasing delivery capabilities, enhancing AI and data-driven solutions and advancing cloud, engineering, testing and digital services for global clients.

For the full list of the 2025 Excellence 1000 Index, please visit here.

About EPAM Systems
Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has used its software engineering expertise to become a leading global provider of digital engineering, cloud and AI-enabled transformation services, and a leading business and experience consulting partner for global enterprises and ambitious startups. We address our clients’ transformation challenges by focusing EPAM Continuum’s integrated strategy, experience and technology consulting with our 30+ years of engineering execution to speed our clients’ time to market and drive greater value from their innovations and digital investments.

We make GenAI real with our AI LLM orchestration, testing and engineering solutions, EPAM DIAL, EPAM EliteA™ and EPAM AI/RUN™, respectively.

We deliver globally but engage locally with our expert teams of consultants, architects, designers and engineers, making the future real for our clients, our partners, and our people around the world. We believe the right solutions are the ones that improve people’s lives and fuel competitive advantage for our clients across diverse industries. Our thinking comes to life in the experiences, products and platforms we design and bring to market.

Added to the S&P 500 and the Forbes Global 2000 in 2021 and recognized by Glassdoor and Newsweek as a Top 100 Best Workplace, our multidisciplinary teams serve customers across six continents. We are proud to be among the top 15 companies in Information Technology Services in the Fortune 1000 and to be recognized as a leader in the IDC MarketScapes for Worldwide Experience Build Services, Worldwide Experience Design Services and Worldwide Software Engineering Services.

Learn more at www.epam.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes estimates and statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Our estimates and forward-looking statements are mainly based on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends, which affect or may affect our business and operations. These statements may include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate” or similar expressions. Those future events and trends may relate to, among other things, developments relating to the war in Ukraine and escalation of the war in the surrounding region, political and civil unrest or military action in the geographies where we conduct business and operate, difficult conditions in global capital markets, foreign exchange markets and the broader economy, and the effect that these events may have on client demand and our revenues, operations, access to capital, and profitability. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions, the risk factors discussed in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the factors discussed in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, particularly under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to several risks and uncertainties and are made based on information currently available to us. EPAM undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.

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SOURCE EPAM Systems, Inc.

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