Samsung pays $200m for internet of things platform SmartThings

Samsung follows fashion set by Apple and Google to buy household automation company

Samsung has followed Apple and Google by buying a start-up developing technology to connect ordinary household devices.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant is believed to be paying in excess of $200m for SmartThings, which is based in the US and backed by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.

It has also scooped up some $15.5m in venture capital funding from Greylock capital and Russian investor Yuri Milner, according to Reuters.

SmartThings bills its technology as an "easy, open, limitless smart home platform" that can "control lights, locks, temperature and more from your smartphone".

Users need to install a hub, as well as the "family" of devices. The company's platform supports the ZigBee and Z-Wave standards, and can connect to wi-fi devices.

Users will also, of course, need to buy the company's locks, lights and other products as well.

"SmartThings remembers your daily routines and automatically adjusts things like climate, music, lighting and more to your preferences. When your plans and patterns change, a simple push of a button is all it takes to get SmartThings to adapt," claims the company.

The firm was founded by Alex Hawkinson, Jeff Hagins and Andrew Brooks and was initially funded via Kickstarter in 2012 before raising venture capital and a subsequent acquisition by Physical Graph Corp.

The 55-employee company's technology will form the nucleus of Samsung's 'internet of things' offerings.