A Taiwanese investment firm is looking to capitalize on the red hot Internet of Things (IoT) market, by launching a $625 million global IoT investment fund.
The China Post reports that Fu Hwa Securities Investment Trust Co. will begin operations of its IoT investment fund by late June.
The firm said its new fund will target the plethora of opportunities that are emerging from IoT technologies such as self-driving cars, big data, smart logistics, cloud computing and advanced manufacturing. As well, Fu Hwa said it will be exploring investments in such sectors as pharmaceuticals, energy, environmental and biotech.
Geographically the fund’s target markets will be the U.S., China, Japan and Europe.
Fu Hwa is looking to cash in on the huge growth in the IoT market. McKinsey recently projected that the global IoT market has the potential to grow from the current $3.9 trillion a year to 11.1 trillion a year by 2025.
The IoT market is currently in an early phase that is focusing on developing software and hardware platforms, said Fu Hwa. The firm anticipates the next phase will include innovations in integrating new software services and business models.
Fu Hwa expects a decade of IoT growth
As these innovations come to market, Fu Hwa said it sees IoT growth as remaining strong for the next 10 years, driving both investment and efficiencies in companies who are able to successfully integrate new IoT technologies.
Morgan Stanley predicts that such IoT applications as online banking, mobile payments, smart medicare, industry 4.0 and self-driving cars will generate at least 30% growth in the coming years.
Compared to this, Morgan Stanley anticipates that the smartphone industry will only see a 5% compound annual growth rate between 2015 and 2020.
Notably China has recently provided a big boost to IoT prospects in the region, particularly in the realm of self-driving cars. China is preparing a draft regulatory framework on self-driving cars that could be ready as early as this year. The regulations are expected to pave the way for autonomous vehicles that will appear on China’s highways in three to five years, and then in Chinese cities by 2025
