With everything from cars to electric scooters to medical devices now connected to the internet, the Internet of Things has moved far beyond a tech buzzword to become an integral piece of the way business gets done in 2021.
And a Chicago startup that helps businesses bring their devices online is growing fast thanks to its IoT connectivity platform.
Hologram, founded in 2014, has created a simple way for businesses to connect any device to the internet. Through a SIM card, Hologram allows companies to quickly connect to the internet, automatically switching between local carriers to find the best coverage. It's amassed more than 3,000 customers, including Kellogg's, UPS and a "large percentage" of the electric scooter market, CEO and founder Ben Forgan said.
The startup saw its revenue double in 2020 and grew its team close to 80%, Forgan said. And Hologram, now at 50 employees, plans to double its headcount this year. Forgan attributes the growth to a "complete acceleration" of businesses adopting IoT technology in order to gather data and bring their devices online.
"We’re at this inflection point where ubiquitous connectivity is just expected," he said. "What Stripe did for payments, we want to do the same thing for connectivity."
Hologram has customers in a range of industries, including health care, agriculture, manufacturing and autonomous vehicles.
In 2018 there were an estimated 22 billion IoT-connected devices around the world, which is expected to more than double to 50 million internet-connected devices by 2030. Forgan believes Hologram is well positioned to serve this growing market, which will only grow faster due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In many ways, I think we’re seeing Covid accelerating the trend of ubiquitous connectivity," he said. "As businesses are seeking to gather more data from things in the field or control more things remotely, they need to build systems that are connected to the internet that are using machines rather than human intervention."
Forgan got his start in tech at Groupon, where he was part of the seven-person team that started Groupon Goods. He then co-founded Singapore-based Foodpanda, which was eventually acquired by Delivery Hero. It was at Foodpanda where he noticed a problem in connecting the company's point-of-sale systems to the internet, and the genesis of Hologram was born.
To date, Hologram has raised $14 million in funding from investors like Drive Capital, Bullpen Capital and Hyde Park Angels. The startup, currently based in the Loop, is opening a new headquarters in the West Loop to accommodate its growing team, Forgan said, adding that Hologram employees all have the option to work remotely or at the office.
