Chinese Information and Communications Technology (ICT) giant Huawei says it intends to build an Internet of Things stronghold in Cambridge around the newly acquired company Neul.
Huawei says it “plans to hire aggressively from Cambridge”, having paid $25 million for Neul to form the nucleus of a global competence centre for IoT.
The acquisition coincides with a high-profile launch in Shenzhen of a new global business strategy by Huawei, which is finally converging its telecoms and IT businesses — a move flagged some time ago but only now gathering momentum.
Neul’s technology is central to the UK’s plans to build a new generation of smart, connected cities. Cambridge is already home to the Weightless SIG, which is accelerating connectivity at the heart of the IoT vision.
Superchip designer ARM is an industry-based leader in IoT and is revamping its Cambridge HQ, as well as building key international partnerships in the IoT space.
Huawei recently told UK Business Secretary Vince Cable that it planned to spend £1.3 billion on technology initiatives in the UK and has now, through the acquisition of Neul, added a Cambridge focus to its existing Ipswich operations.