[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics has recently invested 13 billion won (US$11.53 million) in German Internet of Things technology startup Kiwigrid, industry sources said on May 19.

The Korean tech giant participated in a recent capital increase by the German firm, becoming the third largest shareholder with 17.65 percent stake. 

Kiwigrid, established in 2011, develops remote control technologies for industrial equipment and home appliances.

The latest investment comes as LG is making a big push to adopt its advanced IoT technology not just in home appliances but also for industrial adoption such as for cloud-based energy management.

“We are expanding our energy storage system business based on our solar panel and battery technologies,” an LG official said. “We expect synergies with Kiwigrid in developing more advanced energy management solutions.”

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)