Kontakt.io raises $2M to boost 'beacon' devices and platform

Investment dollars may just now be starting to flow into beacon technology.

In the retail setting, beacon tech is wireless micro-location technology that detects your smartphone when you enter a store, then can deliver relevant content like coupons based on what you’re browsing. It got a big boost late last year when Apple introduced iBeacons, its version of the tech, but similar technology works on Android and other platforms.

Kontakt.io is a Polish startup with its own take on Beacons. The firm makes a piece of beacon hardware, as well as an software platform. The company lets app developers create apps that work on its platform using an application programming interface (API) and a software development kit (SDK) for iOS and Android.

The company says Google, Facebook, Apple, and Siemens are already customers.

Sunstone Capital has just backed Kontakt.io with a fresh $2 million infusion of cash, which the startup says it will use for product development and to market its existing products to more places around the world.

ABI Research estimates that within 5 years shipments of dedicated beacon hardware will reach over $60 million.

Analysts say the technology’s usefulness doesn’t end at retail, but could end up being used in security; home and office automation; care of patients, children and the elderly; asset and warehouse management; and indoor navigation.

Apple has already bet a lot on the beacon concept with its iBeacon technology. Aside from the that, Kontakt.io competes with Estimote and Swarm.

Hat tip: TechCrunch