Particle is an internet of things (IoT) startup, providing a platform for individuals and small businesses to create their own IoT devices. The company offers a range of hardware tools and cloud-based software, helping companies to link their connected devices to the web and collect data on product usage to improve functionality.

The tools enable people to take IoT products from prototype to scale quickly.

The company was founded in San Francisco in 2011 by former McKinsey & Company management consultant Zach Supalla and Zachary Crockett, former CTO at a residential energy compliance company.

Particle raised $10.4m (£8m) in a series A funding round in 2016, with investors including Root Ventures, O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures (OATV) and Rincon Venture Partners.

The company’s employee base has grown by 40% over the past year, with 38 full-time staff, and there are currently more than 110,000 customers developing IoT products via the Particle platform.