By: Scott Way
Yamaha Marine Systems, Inc. has purchased smart technology company Siren Marine. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2021. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The purchase marks a significant move for Yamaha as large marine companies continue to invest strongly in smart technology applications. Siren Marine manufactures IoT (Internet of Things) solutions for the marine industry. Their primary product is the Siren Smart Boat Monitoring system which uses a standalone device installed on a boat to relay boat information to an associated smartphone app.
The system gives users complete access to their boat's data, including engine status, battery power, GPS position, temperature, bilge status, and more. The app itself creates a single platform where the entirety's of a boat's electronics can be viewed and controlled. The system also includes security and anti-theft features, geofencing, and the ability to remotely control nearly all of a vessel's onboard activity.
Siren was founded in 2011 by Daniel Harper, a licensed captain, sailor, and entrepreneur who passed away unexpectedly in January 2020. Yamaha made a minority investment in Siren in March 2020, but the new terms will allow Yamaha to expand the integration of their products and platforms using Siren's forward-thinking tech.
“As we began to work closely with the Siren team, we realized quickly what a great fit Siren is for the Yamaha strategy as we move forward with product development,” said Ben Speciale, President, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit in a company statement. “The full acquisition of Siren will allow us to truly integrate our products and deliver an even more exceptional experience for Yamaha customers. In short, we want to be sure that all future Yamaha products are connected because we know that is what our customers want – an integrated, connected boating experience, whether it is on an outboard-powered boat, a personal watercraft or a sport boat.”
The move marks a further commitment by Yamaha towards their CASE Strategy, an acronym for Connected, Autonomous, Shared/Service and Electrification, which aims to deploy new technology to improve the boating experience by simplifying a boat's controls. The integration of Yamaha and Siren products will give users a single platform to access and control the vast majority of their boat's systems, rather than requiring them to access multiple different areas of the boat or use multiple different electronic systems. In essence, it allows for the formation of a single platform for controlling a boat.
“By joining the Yamaha team, we now have the ability and power to give customers the best Connected Boat® experiences on the market,” said Siren Marine CEO Jeffrey Poole. “We look forward to our future as part of the Yamaha family. The products we develop together will deliver unmatched reliability coupled with integrated, innovative power systems propelling the marine industry into the future.”
Siren products will continue to be produced under the Siren brand name, while development teams will continue to work out of Siren's headquarters in Newport, Rhode Island, as well as Yamaha's US Marine Business Unit in Kennesaw, Georgia. Both entities are expected to announce new co-developed products in 2022.
To get a firsthand look at how the Siren Marine system works and how it can be integrated with a boat, check out the video below:
