Ikea doubles down on smart home tech with new business unit

Ikea's smart home investments to date have been smart but scattered – now the Swedish home goods brand says it's going to amp up its smart home bets with a brand new dedicated business unit. The company's smart home endeavors began in 2012, and focused on wireless charging and smart lighting. Ikea also has its own ambitions in terms of being the hub for future smart home products, not only from a hardware perspective, but also via its Home smart app, which it rebranded from being more strictly focused on its Tradfri line of connected bulbs in June.