obniz

obniz Inc., formerly known as Cambrian Robotics, was founded in 2014 by Yuki Sato and Kohei Kido. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Yuki Sato, the CEO and a co-founder, has been an engineer since the age of 10 and studied at Waseda University. This deep-rooted technical background is central to the company's product-focused approach. Kohei Kido, the other co-founder, also attended Waseda University.

The company operates on a mission to "Make Everything Online." It has developed a cloud-based IoT platform that simplifies the connection and control of physical hardware over the internet. The core of their offering is the obniz OS, which can be installed on various devices, and their official hardware that comes pre-loaded with the OS. This system allows for real-time, bi-directional access to hardware from the cloud, enabling development and control from a PC or smartphone. This approach is designed to lower the technical barriers and reduce development time for IoT projects.

obniz serves a market that includes both individual developers and businesses looking to integrate smart technology into their operations. Their business model involves the sale of official hardware and parts, as well as providing the cloud platform that enables the remote control and management of these devices. The company has successfully raised a total of $5.47 million over four funding rounds, with their latest Series B funding occurring on July 31, 2022. Key investors include the University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Kajima Ventures, and Seibu Shinkin Capital.

Keywords: IoT platform, cloud-based hardware, remote device control, obnizOS, hardware as a service, embedded systems, IoT development, smart systems, real-time access, bi-directional control