SoftBank Invests in OSIsoft

SoftBank Group Corp, a telecom- and IoT-focused investor, announced plans to take a significant minority stake in OSIsoft LLC, a privately held maker of real-time data infrastructure for industrial markets.

According to its recent press release, SoftBank is buying out venture capital investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TCV, and Tola Capital’s interest in OSIsoft. Japan's Mitsui & Co will remain an investor. Several years ago, Softbank began moving into the enterprise services markets from more consumer markets.

ARC sees this as a positive move for OSIsoft, one that will help the company expand further into the IoT device management and key telecommunications and energy management markets.

OSIsoft founder and CEO, Pat Kennedy will retain controlling interest in the company he founded, and the current leadership will remain in place. Mr. Kennedy said that the company generates about $400 million in sales per year. He also said in the press release, “We are helping some of the world’s most innovative companies get smarter about how they use their data. Our industrial customers and utilities demand the highest levels of service and reliability. That’s why our focus has been, and will always be, on customer success and satisfaction. “Collaborating with SoftBank will enable us to bring the concept of data infrastructure to more markets like telecommunications as well as strengthen our commitment to our customers. We’re very much looking forward to working together.”

Pat Kennedy, OSIsoft Founder and CEO

Founded in 1980, OSIsoft is the leading infrastructure for real-time series data in industrial markets and are well known in these markets. The company infrastructure technology captures, stores, contextualizes and analyzes data from the oil and gas and refining, nuclear and power plants, energy, chemical plants, utilities, mining, pharmaceuticals, food pulp and paper and water, semiconductor, automotive and other industries. The company is also actively involved with IoT and cloud initiatives. OSIsoft is also working with NASA to exchange data in space, local communities and airports to collect and monitor sensor data.

CEO, Masayoshi Son, has stated the Internet of Things was one his main investment themes and key to the company's $32 billion acquisition of semiconductor company ARM Holdings last year.

OSIsoft has a powerful and growing industrial partner ecosphere that spans industries and geographic markets with products, applications and services who use or connect to the OSIsoft infrastructure. These include major automation companies such as Rockwell Automation, Emerson, and Yokogawa.

ARC is currently working on additional market research in the real-time database and historian market for the industrial process and discrete markets. Anyone with an interest or technology should contact [email protected].