Troubled French IoT startup Sigfox has been saved from receivership by Singapore based UnaBiz.

From an array nine potential bidders, IoT firm UnaBiz has been selected as the new owner Sigfox, which came onto the scene with a proprietary narrowband tech designed specifically for IoT, during insolvency proceedings at the Commercial Court of Toulouse.

UnaBiz says it will safeguard 110 existing employees of a total of 174 – so that’s 64 heads on the chopping block – and make ‘financial and operational assessments’ to protect the mission-critical network and backend systems, in order to reassure the firm’s customers.

“I want to thank the entire Sigfox community for supporting us, and the French government for authorising our investment,” said Henri Bong, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UnaBiz. “While the transition of ownership marks a new beginning for Sigfox, UnaBiz will definitely guarantee the French sovereignty of Sigfox.

“As the world’s leading provider of IoT communication services and the pioneer of the 0G network in 75 countries worldwide, Sigfox is in a unique position to champion massive IoT adoption. “On top of securing the sales pipeline for Sigfox in the next 12 months as global markets emerge from the pandemic, UnaBiz and Sigfox will strive towards the convergence of LPWAN. The new Sigfox will reinvent itself and collaborate with other IoT communication technologies to seize new market opportunities.”

Sigfox went into insolvency in January this year, blaming “slower-than-expected adoption cycle for its technology,” which was not helped by the pandemic. Sigfox offers a technology to connect IoT devices as an alternative to cellular 2G or 3G connections, but the uptake globally has not been fantastic. So while a new owner and management plan will save the operation from insolvency, the questions remains as to whether the technology it sells has a market.

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