Ericsson Sells IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud Businesses to Aeris

Ericsson and Aeris Communications, a leading provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, have signed an agreement for the transfer of Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses.  Ericsson IoT Accelerator is used by over 9,000 enterprises to manage more than 95 million connected devices with 22 million eSIM connections globally. These enterprises and connections leverage Ericsson's growing ecosystem of over 35 communications service provider partners for global IoT cellular connectivity. Connected Vehicle Cloud is used to connect six million vehicles and counting across 180 countries.

The Ericsson IoT business, with 2022 full year forecasted net sales of SEK 0.8 billion, has been the key driver of the company’s losses in Business Area Technologies and New Businesses in the Enterprise segment. The transaction will eliminate quarterly losses of SEK 0.25 billion.

Founded in 1996, Aeris provides businesses with intelligent IoT cellular connectivity. Its solution stack is brought to the market through an ecosystem of channel partners, communications service providers and direct sales organizations. Aeris’ Intelligent IoT Network, targeting industry verticals such as transportation, energy, automotive and healthcare, gives communications service providers the opportunity to monetize new services on top of connectivity enabled by the IoT Accelerator.  The company has already teamed up with several leading communication service providers including Softbank, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Vodafone, and is also working with leading automotive original equipment manufacturers.

Together, Aeris’ and Ericsson’s IoT platforms will connect over 100 million IoT devices worldwide, covering 190 countries. For customers, this combination is intended to provide the stability, reliability and global scale needed to support the full lifecycle of IoT programs across multiple industries, use cases, and geographies. Through the transaction, Aeris will generate strong market synergies and further simplify IoT for 9,400 enterprises by providing them with a global, feature rich platform with secure, reliable, and intelligent IoT solutions. To communications service providers, the transaction of Ericsson’s IoT businesses to Aeris will result in a strong partner that continues to provide their customers with a leading IoT connectivity platform, while also offering new value-added services to help grow IoT revenue streams.

The transaction includes the transfer of Ericsson’s assets and employees in its IoT business to Aeris. In addition, Ericsson intends to support Aeris with transition services and will acquire a small stake in the company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.