SpaceX simply dipped its toes into the Internet of Things. SpaceNews reports that SpaceX has acquired Swarm Technologies, a startup greatest recognized for smallsats that energy IoT companies. The two firms aren’t shy about how this may assist Swarm — this provides the youthful firm the assets it must tackle different smallsat operators, no to say “synergies” that include an organization used to designing and launching satellites.

Swarm’s business mini-satellite community simply went live in February of this yr, however it already had sufficient funding to complete rolling out an array of 150 satellites. It’s a small firm with roughly 30 workers as of March.

It’s not clear if or how SpaceX will alter its technique because of the deal, though an FCC submitting instructed Elon Musk’s outfit would primarily profit from Swarm’s “intellectual property and expertise.” In different phrases, this could be an acquihire fairly than an enlargement of SpaceX’s technique.

There are areas the place the companies would possibly mesh nicely. SpaceX is busy deploying a large constellation of comparatively small Starlink web satellites. The agency additionally not too long ago started launching rideshare missions stuffed with cubesats and different small payloads. Swarm would at the very least function a buyer for these rideshare missions. It may additionally assist SpaceX refine or broaden its smallsat efforts, irrespective of how a lot IoT performs a job.