People Power Co. announced a $4.4 million Series B funding led by MediaTek, Inc., a company that specializes in Internet of Things chipsets and technologies.

People Power is a user engagement company that provides apps, cloud and mobile service for IoT, and this round of funding will be used to accelerate its penetration in the IoT market in the U.S. and China. The funding will also be used to develop new IoT products that are based on the company’s Fabrux and Influx software architecture, as well as increase its manpower by hiring additional people in its sales, marketing and engineering teams.

People Power differentiates itself in the IoT market with its focus on the mobile user experience. Its award-winning app Presence allows users to repurpose spare smart devices by turning them into Internet security cameras. This allows users to secure and control their homes using their mobile devices. Another thing that sets Presence apart is that it offers a freemium model that enables consumers to first become familiar with the many benefits of IoT technology before making a large investment.

According to a recent BI Intelligence Report, the Internet of Things will add $1.7 trillion in value to the global economy. However, Acquity Group shows that there is still a great amount of adoption to be had for the technology. With this Series B funding, People Power is hoping to become one of the major forces driving the IoT into mainstream consumer adoption.

“This additional funding is a huge vote of confidence in People Power’s vision of mass adoption of connected home products, as well as our long-term potential in the market,” said Gene Wang, CEO and co-founder of People Power. “By promoting a freemium model for IoT products and services, People Power offers consumers easy access to the technology. Instead of requiring enormous upfront costs and ongoing monthly fees for smart services and devices, we enable consumers to purchase inexpensive hardware, and provide the option to add monthly services when they are ready. Using a gradual approach to ease consumers into obtaining the benefits of the technology will help fuel the massive adoption of connected products.”

Developers can also take advantage of Presence’s simple and engaging design. Fabrux, People Power’s connected home operating system, which is controlled through the Presence app, enables developers to create and deploy engaging IoT services, enhance their own platforms or integrate Fabrux with devices connected through existing frameworks and protocols, such as HomeKit, AllJoyn, ZigBee, Bluetooth and others. Already supporting more than 1.3 million devices, Fabrux helps any company strengthen its own unique vision of IoT and create new revenue opportunities.

Image source: People Power Co.