Tuya, one of the world’s largest and most widespread Internet of Things (IoT) OS providers, landed in the United States with a flourish this week via its launch of a U.S. version of its Tuya Smart platform. This turnkey solution could help manufacturers transform standard products into IoT products within a matter of days.
The Tuya Smart system offers hardware access, cloud services, and app development in a synchronized end-to-end process that, at its fastest, can create controlling apps for products in minutes. The platform also boasts the ability to turn a standard product into a smart one within 24 hours, as well as enable manufacturers to launch mass production within two weeks.
This visible presence at CES marks the company’s ambitious efforts to export its capabilities to global manufacturers in order to take advantage of the visible growth of the IoT market in the U.S. Its approach also offers U.S. manufacturers a head start in the international market through the use of Tuya’s global platform. Products powered by Tuya can ship to any market and adapt to different countries’ requirements.
“Build Internet of Things, Effortlessly” is Tuya’s mission, and to say they’ve gained a foothold in the IoT market would be a vast understatement. The company’s partners already include Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit, among others. Since its establishment in Hangzhou, China in 2014, Tuya has served more than 10,000 customers in nearly 200 countries, working on products including smart power accessories, lighting and household appliances, and surveillance equipment.
“From homes and schools, to offices and factories, smart living will become a norm in the highly connected IoT world of the future. Tuya hopes to be the ‘gateway’ to this smart world, serving as the A.I. and IoT catalyst for manufacturers, and helping them to bring smart devices to consumers faster and more efficiently,” said Jerry Wang, founder and CEO of Tuya. “We see tremendous business potential in the connected lifestyle, where data understands everyone’s needs, preferences, and habits.”
“The U.S. market is of significant importance to us with the popularity of the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home,” said Alex Yang, Tuya’s co-founder and chief operating officer in charge of the company’s overseas expansion. “Both Amazon and Google are already our partners, and we hope to bring our capabilities to more U.S. manufacturers via the launch of our U.S. platform at CES. This is part of our ongoing commitment to the market.”
Both exectives came from the team that worked previously for Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant that has become one of the largest and most valuable companies in the world. This core team members held key roles in the development of Alibaba’s AliYun, now a function of Alibaba Cloud, the company’s cloud computing division, as well as QR code projects that morphed into Alipay, a mobile payment technology. In 2017, Tuya announced that it had raised tens of millions of dollars from lead investors including China International Capital, Oriental Fortune Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and Quadrill Xapital.
Tuya exhibited hundreds of smart products at CES including power accessories, lighting, household appliances, surveillance equipment, and kitchen appliances. The company also debuted a range of smart home technologies such as Bluetooth mesh resolution and A.I. camera technology.
In addition to hardware interfaces, Tuya is one of the leading developers of A.I. functionalities, one aspect of the business that boosts the company’s ability to enable manufacturers to pivot to smart devices affordably and quickly. Its automated ap- generation service enables firms to design and develop their own distinctive app within minutes. By the end of 2017, Tuya Smart had supplied A.I. services covering a wide spectrum of home appliances to more than 10,000 customers across six continents. Tuya Smart currently processes over 6 million A.I. interactions per day and has accumulated over one petabyte of storage.
Headquartered in Hangzhou, Tuya also has a significant presence in Silicon Valley, as well as data centers in Portland (Oregon), Frankfurt and Hangzhou. Following the U.S. launch, Tuya Smart will target parts of Europe and Japan for further expansion.
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