2021
October
26

Samsung SmartThings Joins Thread Group Board of Directors

Mountain View, CA — October 26, 2021 – Samsung SmartThings, the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT, today announces SmartThings has joined the Thread Group board of directors.  SmartThings will join the industry alliance addressing IoT convergence, security concerns, energy footprint, and architecture challenges at the network layer.

"As a long-time member of Thread Group and a leading sponsor of the Matter initiative which leverages Thread technology, we're excited to expand our leadership role and more deeply contribute technical and marketing expertise to help accelerate Thread's market adoption," said Mark Tekippe, board representative and Director of Product at SmartThings.

Thread is an IP-based low-power mesh connectivity standard, poised to become the chosen network protocol over which Matter devices will communicate. As one of the most versatile platforms, SmartThings is committed to offering the largest connectivity options to consumers, enabling them to seamlessly integrate new devices into their homes.

In this new sponsor-level role, SmartThings will bring years of experience and historical knowledge of the IoT space, aiming to create more opportunities for users and deliver a more responsive, seamless connected living experience. Together with Thread Group, SmartThings can continue to further collaborate aside industry titans and contribute to the expansion of IoT technology as a whole.

“We are excited to welcome SmartThings to our board of directors at such a transformational time for smart home IoT,” said Vividh Siddha, president of the Thread Group. “There has been a dramatic shift in people’s living preferences, and SmartThings’ deep knowledge of the features and integrations today's consumers are seeking will be invaluable for Thread as we continue to reimagine the connected home experiences.”

SmartThings joins Apple, Google/Nest, NXP, OSRAM, Somfy, Lutron, Nordic Semiconductor, Qualcomm, Siemens, Silicon Labs, and Yale on the Thread Group Board of Directors. 

SmartThings is the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT. Its open platform already supports thousands of devices across hundreds of brands and offers endless possibilities to innovators and developers seeking seamless connectivity in a vast IoT ecosystem. The company is committed to bringing smart functionality and capabilities everywhere consumers want to be, while enhancing the user experience. There are currently millions of people in more than 200 countries accessing SmartThings technology daily to create automations and control facets of their smart homes via the SmartThings App and through a range of Samsung products such as phones, TVs, and digital appliances. SmartThings offers the most flexible amount of protocols, including the new IoT standard, Matter.  Launched in 2012, SmartThings is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and is a founding board member of Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the IoT. For more information, please visit www.smartthings.com.

Formed in 2013, the non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the internet of things in homes and commercial buildings. Built on open standards, Thread is a low power wireless networking protocol that enables direct, end-to-end, secure and scalable connectivity between IoT devices, mobile devices, and the internet. And, because Thread is IP-based, it seamlessly integrates with many environments, apps, devices and clouds. The Thread Group provides a rigorous certification program to ensure device interoperability and a positive user experience. Thread is backed by industry-leading companies including Apple, Google/Nest, Lutron, Nordic Semiconductors, NXP Semiconductors, OSRAM, Qualcomm, Siemens, Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Yale Security.