Acumera makes play for restaurant, retail edge with Reliant acquisition
Acumera, a provider of SaaS solutions for network and security services has acquired Reliant, a provider of edge computing solutions for retail and restaurants.
Reliant isn’t a widely known name in edge computing, but has been around since 2006 and has grown to 77 employees, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.
Reliant’s edge computing platform has been deployed by brands such as Taco Bell to support customer services such as walk-in / walk-out shopping, contactless payments, AI-driven restaurant kitchens, and more. Among its offerings, the Reliant Platform is a hardware and cloud-agnostic solution that centralizes, automates, and controls the delivery and management of applications and systems at the network edge.
Reliant’s edge computing solutions are a perfect complement to our network operation, visualization and security services,” said Bill Morrow, CEO of Acumera in a prepared statement.
While both Acumera and Reliant have targeted healthcare, hospitality, and other industries, Reliant has made most of its inroads in areas such as quick-serve restaurants (QSRs) and retail stores where companies are managing hundreds to thousands of geographically dispersed locations — which is exactly the type of IT problem that edge computing solutions are designed for.
“The combination of our two businesses makes Acumera the clear leader in edge computing in retail and hospitality, and will enable us to bring the benefits of Reliant Platform to new markets and verticals and continue to drive innovation with our existing clients,” said Richard Newman cofounder and CTO of Reliant.
Deal details and analysis
Acumera said the transaction was completed with a strategic growth investment from an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital (“Peak Rock”), a leading middle-market private investment firm. The terms of the deal were not publicly announced.
While coverage of startups in edge computing (and elsewhere) are fawning over large funding rounds and larger valuations, the Acumera deal and the involvement of a middle-market investment firm shows that there is are viable exit strategies for smaller companies with a solid customer base and revenue growth other than IPOs and being swallowed by gigantic public companies.
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Article Topics
Acumera | edge server | healthcare | IoT | M&A | Peak Rock Capital | Reliant | retail
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