Electric Imp has raised $15 million to bring the Internet of Things to reality

Electric Imp, a startup that builds Wi-Fi modules and cloud for connecting devices has raised $15 million in Series B financing from a slew of investors, including Chinese contract manufacturer, Foxconn. Other backers include PTI Ventures, Rampart Capital, and returning investors Redpoint Ventures and Hugo Fiennes, the CEO and co-founder of Electric Imp. The appearance of Foxconn, a contract manufacturer most people associate with Apple’s iPhone, as an investor indicates its apparent interest in connected devices. As connectivity is embedded in light bulbs, rings and appliances, Foxconn surely sees a chance to expand its business.

In the future it seems like every device we buy will be connected, enabling us to track and manage what’s going on in our homes and offices wherever we are. But those devices need a platform for easily creating applications around. Electric Imp wants to provide the connective tissue that powers all those devices, with a wireless module and cloud-based platform for connecting to them. Electric Imp has raised $15 million in Series B funding from a group of strategic investors that include consumer electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn, along with PTI Ventures and Rampart Capital. The new funding comes on top of about $8 million that Electric Imp raised two years ago from Redpoint Ventures and Lowercase Capital. In addition to its other investors, founder and CEO Hugo Fiennes put some more of his own money in during this round, thanks to a windfall that he received from the sale of Nest to Google. Fiennes, you see, was one of the early team members there before deciding to strike out on his own and build Electric Imp. “I found myself flush with Google cash after the Nest acquisition. I’m slightly sad that I didn’t stay because then I’d never have to work again,” Fiennes told me. That said, he sees a much larger opportunity for Electric Imp. “Personally I believe the market Imp is addressing is huger than what Nest could address,” he said.