KORE to Buy Twilio IoT Portfolio, Establishing a Leader in IoT Connectivity as a Service

by Taylor Wolfe

Today, Twilio is announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement for KORE to purchase Twilio’s IoT portfolio. The IoT industry continues to experience massive growth as connected devices like fitness trackers, fleet-management solutions, electric vehicle chargers and more connect the digital and physical world. As Twilio considers the next phase for its IoT portfolio, KORE, a leading IoT provider focused on delivering a full suite of IoT solutions, Connectivity as a Service, and managed services, provides an ideal home. Twilio and KORE are committed to ensuring a seamless customer transition as Twilio’s IoT business joins the KORE team.

Twilio’s IoT business and KORE know that the complexity of building IoT solutions and bringing them to market requires the right building blocks. Customers need more than a SIM card or a piece of hardware. They need a complete technology stack that enables them to securely connect and update IoT devices for their lifetimes, communicate the significance of their data to any cloud or application, and manage the state of thousands or millions of devices programmatically at scale.

Twilio’s IoT business supports millions of devices in the field today through both its connectivity and device builder products. KORE has been simplifying the complexities of IoT across the globe for the last 20 years. KORE’s acquisition of Twilio’s IoT business will leverage Twilio’s digital community and cloud-native core network providing customers with an unprecedented value during their IoT journey.

This transaction will enable the combined business to provide:

• An enhanced worldwide connectivity suite with robust Connectivity-as-a-service (CaaS) with best-in-class eSIM technologies through our Super SIM and OmniSIM with local profiles for secure, managed global connectivity
  
• A one-stop-shop for the full IoT lifecycle utilizing a suite of integrated solutions from device builder platforms to seamless connectivity, analytics services, logistics and managed services from our world-class facilities
  
• Faster Time to Market for IoT solutions utilizing the experience and expertise of the combined IoT teams to simplify IoT journey and elevate business outcomes coupled with unparalleled customer experience as the new KORE supports our customers with 24/7 ‘follow the sun’ customer support

Twilio incubated its IoT portfolio over the last 6 years, launching its first product, Programmable Wireless, to general availability in 2018. It has since launched many other products including a flagship connectivity product, Super SIM, to general availability in 2020 after acquiring Core Network Dynamics in 2018 to help build the world’s first built-from-scratch, cloud native mobile core. In 2019, Twilio launched its Device Builder business through an acquisition of Electric Imp and have since launched new products, including Microvisor into Public Beta. This has all led to a portfolio of products and services that thousands of customers use to build the next generation of IoT devices.

Twilio’s IoT Business is excited to help create a one-stop-shop with KORE to build, deploy, manage, and scale our joint customers’ IoT business whether they’re experimenting with a brand-new project or choosing how to scale from few to millions of devices.

The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions. We expect to close sometime in [Q2]2023.