Flipkart-backed Cube26 enters IoT space with Bluetooth-controlled smart bulb

India’s mobile technology startup Cube26 has forayed into the Internet of Things space with a smartphone-controlled smart bulb. Launched under IOTA brand, the Bluetooth-controlled smart bulb is the first product from the company’s IoT portfolio. The 7 watt bulb which gives 500 lumens is more suited for the purpose of creating an ambiance. “The idea here was to create a bulb that people can use as an accessory but not as a utility, not something you replace with lamps at your home,” Cube26 co-founder and CEO Saurav Kumar said. [caption id=“attachment_2495000” align=“alignleft” width=“357”]  Source: Cube26[/caption] “Our take on the industry is that IoT is something that everyone has talked about but accessibility is something that every company has lacked. So, we are looking at a product that someone can buy, quickly install, and test. We wish to make IoT a reality in India and come up with products, solutions and services which are locally as well as globally relevant,” he added. For the colour-changing smart bulb, Cube26 tied up with Toshiba for LEDs and Texas Instruments for  microprocessor. On using Bluetooth technology to operate the bulb, Kumar added, “The penetration of Bluetooth technology is much higher than some of the high end technologies like Wi-Fi, LAN, or cloud.” The launch time has been set keeping the festival of lights Diwali in mind. The bulb will be sold exclusively through Flipkart. The move is quite obvious given the fact that the e-commerce company recently invested in this startup. On this, Kumar said, “We have the Flipkart partnership. They have a huge visitor base. The time we chose to release the product is Diwali and Flipkart is anyways running a lot of offers during this period. We are leveraging their reach to spread the message about this product.” [caption id=“attachment_2495008” align=“alignright” width=“342”]  Cube26 co-founder and CEO Saurav Kumar[/caption] The company is betting big on digital medium to market its product. It has planned some on-ground as well as online activities during this Diwali season. “All these campaigns will start soon after the launch. We will go out with our social media posts, videos, pages, etc.” The MRP of the bulb is Rs 1,899, which is much lesser than Phillips Hue which costs somewhere around Rs 4,000. In the IoT category, Cube26 is looking for products in segments including, home automation, wearables, and healthcare market. Some of our products are in the planning stage, Kumar added. Cube26 recently received Rs 50 crore seed funding from Tiger Global and Flipkart which it plans to use for expansion and extend its software expertise to other connected devices and form-factors. The startup, which was founded three years ago by Kumar, Abhilekh Aggarwal and Aakash Jain, has worked with OEMs like Micromax, Panasonic, Karbonn, Lava etc. for customised mobile solutions. Applications like ‘Blink to Capture’ and ‘QuickLook’ provided OEMs with a distinctive edge over their competitors. Currently, Cube26 software resides on more than 5 million devices. The company, which currently employs 65 people, out of which 80 percent are software talent, is aggressively hiring talent and wants to take the total headcount to 120. The now profitable venture with a monthly revenue of over Rs 1 crore, is also planning to set up its R&D centre in Bangalore. The centre will house around 10-12 data scientists. Cube26 said it is also partnering with some universities to fuel the research.