Accelerating its push into the energy-management sector, Cisco said it will acquire startup Arch Rock, which produces mesh networking technology for smart grid systems, including advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI. The deal comes the day after Cisco said it will acquire Itron, which makes intelligent electric meters that can be connected to the Internet.
Cisco has said for several years that it sees the electric grid as one more form of networking that will become a natural subsidiary market for the world’s largest producer of network equipment. Federal smart-energy subsidies have helped make the smart grid – i.e., using Internet technology connected to the electric grid to more effectively monitor and control energy usage by homes and businesses – a hot area for investment. Not all such initiatives have been successful, however: Xcel Energy, one of the largest utilities in the West, recently said it was cutting off additional investment in its “Smart Grid City" project, which originated in Boulder, Colo., and has sucked up some $41 million in investment to date.
Founded in 2005, Arch Rock, which makes wireless sensors and software for smart grids, has received $15 million in venture funding from several Silicon Valley investors including Intel Capital. The company is led by CEO Roland Acra, a 13-year veteran of Cisco who sold his router startup Procket Networks to Cisco in 2004.
Smart-grid deployments could drive revenue for vendors and service providers of as much as $200 billion over the next five years, according to Pike Research, a clean-energy research firm.
