LG has acquired an 80% stake in Athom, a Dutch smart home company known for its Homey smart home hub. LG plans to purchase the remaining 20% of Athom within the next three years, though the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Athom, founded in 2014, offers the Homey smart home hub and cloud subscription services to hundreds of thousands of users primarily in Europe, with devices also available in Australia, Singapore, the United States, and Canada since 2023. The company’s flagship product, Homey Pro, can connect to over 50,000 devices and supports various connection methods, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Matter, and Thread. The Homey App Store offers around 1,000 apps for controlling home devices from companies like Philips Hue and IKEA.
LG plans to integrate Athom’s Homey platform, which links thousands of appliances, sensors, and lighting devices, with its LG ThinQ platform. This integration aims to create an “AI home that delivers optimal space solutions by gaining a deeper understanding of the customer,” according to LG’s press release. The integration will allow customers to create a personalized environment tailored to their preferences.
Athom will continue to operate as an independent company following the acquisition, maintaining its business operations and branding. Both of the company’s founders, Emile Nijssen and Stefan Witkamp, will stay on as executives of Athom.
Jung Ki-hyun, executive vice president and head of LG’s Platform Business Center, highlighted the strategic importance of the acquisition, stating, “The acquisition of Athom is a cornerstone for our AI home business. 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.”
This move by LG recalls Samsung’s acquisition of SmartThings in 2014 for around $200 million, which has since expanded SmartThings support to its TVs, appliances, wearables, and compatible smart devices.