Hon Hai Reportedly Plans to Invest in Smart Home Developer LifeSmart of China

With an eye on the emerging potential of the smart home market which enables owners to remotely control lighting, indoor temp, monitor indoor activity, etc., Taiwan's Hon Hai Group, a leading global EMS (electronics manufacturing services) provider, reportedly plans to invest in LifeSmart Inc. of China, a modern, tech-and-internet enterprise specializing in smart home development.

LifeSmart launched a range of smart-home solutions in 2014 to have attracted intense attention to its innovations, whose flagship products include: the Smart Station, Wireless Camera, Multi-Sensor, Motion Sensor, 3-Way In-Wall Light Switch, Magic Light Strip, among others.

In June 2014, LifeSmart received a capital injection of 10 million renminbi (RMB, or Chinese yuan), and again successfully raised 60 million RMB in September from investors Qingdao Haier SAIF Investment Management of China and Hon Hai Group of Taiwan. The investment amounts and shareholding proportions have not been disclosed.

Industry sources said that LifeSmart's series smart home products are mainly designed to be connected with Internet of Things (IoT), mobile Internet, and cloud-based devices. Through the company's self-developed app, users can easily connect to high-resolution wireless cameras, various types of sensors, smart switches, smart slots, smart LED lighting, etc. LifeSmart says that its experienced team is capable of handling every step of the process from design to development and management to marketing, enabling the company to create outstanding hardware, software, and services to bring lifestyle convenience to users.

To effectively shape its brand image in the shortest time, LifeSmart opted to focus its marketing on top-end houses in China, and has successfully sold smart home products to many luxury housing projects. The firm has also formed strategic alliances with different smart platforms such as Chinaunicom, Alibaba, Aliyun, etc., and is scheduled to kick off developing global business deployments in the near future.

Industry insiders said that LifeSmart has set up a branch office in the U.S.; started a partnership with Sprint, the third-largest telecom company in the U.S.; and has set up strategic partnership with Samsung's U.S. operation.

In addition to established distributors in Sweden, Germany, the U.K. etc., LifeSmart reportedly is in talks with Eliq over issues about entering into the northern European market and designate IKEA as promoter of its products.