Services ranging from thermostat sensors to wristbands that can track how you sleep or eat, is made up of hundreds of startup companies categorised as the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet of Things describes technologies that connect to the internet and to each other through sensors, wireless networks, as well as "machine-to-machine" methods.

112 operations for 752 MM$

According to CBinsights, in the last year, nearly $ 752 million has been invested in IoT companies, up nearly 28% from the same period last year. Although year-on-year funding growth was down by nearly 46%, it is important to note that the majority of the $ 810M invested in 1Q'12 was due to the mega deal in Vivint (a home automation and security surveillance company), now owned by the Group Blackstone. Stripping out the effect of this mega project, financing in this segment also grew by 20.7%. Activity by number of deals soared in Q4'12 to 41 deals from 21 in Q3'12 largely due to an increase in seed stage investments.

Segment increasingly talked about by technology analysts

"Last month, Techcrunch, the specialist technology website, published an article about the internet of things and the main companies that are operating in this niche. It compares its expectation to that generated by crowdfunding and 3D printing," says Diego Gutierrez, startup analyst at ABRA INVEST.

"There are several sectors of activity where this technology is making an impact. For example, we have:

- Home Automation & Energy Management - examples such as  iControl Networks and Nest Labs.

- Networks, Sensors & Platforms -  GainSpanand ThingMagic.

- Healthcare -  MobileHelpand AliveCor.

- Monitoring & Tracking -   Cantaloupe Systems.

- Quantified Self -  MapMyFitness and Jawbone.

In Spain: sensors and M2M

"In Spain, there are also start-ups working in this field. The ones we are talking about today come from research carried out at the University and have become spin-offs thanks to the collaboration of Venture Capital funds. There is Farsens, born in TECNUN (San Sebastián) and recently financed by Ambar Venture capital. It works with wireless sensor solutions without the need for a battery. AWDYNAMICSborn in the Polytechnic University of Madrid and which was supported by Mobius Venture Capital. Provides technological solutions in the Machine to Machine environment." updates Diego Gutierrez.