Pentabox From Thailand Takes Control of TVs Across The World

It’s always nice to find teams across Asia that are working on very different problems from the usual mainstream mass market variety like chat apps. And I’m especially keen on startups that are looking at hardware and software solutions, like Setech Viet or Misfit Wearables who are looking ahead to the ‘internet of things’. So Penta is an especially cool company out of Thailand that combines hardware and software into the Pentabox.

The $150 Pentabox, as Mimee from Thumbs Up wrote in January, is basically a set top box that runs on Penta’s own operating system (built on top of Linux) and can plug into any screen. Thus, Penta works closely with companies to design new ways that it can be used in commercial, educational, and other undiscovered settings. The applications of the device, according to founder Jay Jootar, spans many industries and uses already:

Such as in classrooms, where you have a screen in front of the class with a lesson or games, then students with a tablet can interact with each other and the teacher. Another application is digital signage. One of our partners built an augmented reality digital signage with Penta connected to a screen and camera. People can walk in front of the screen and the digital signage will interact with them. They can try their clothes in front of a store with the screen.

So far Penta has been used with TV, games, outdoor kiosks, replacing PCs in internet cafes, and digital signage. But Jay says they’re mostly focusing on TV and digital signage, where the biggest markets are. So Jay considers the startup a B2B2B business and sometimes a B2B2C one.

World markets

Currently, Penta is mostly focusing on Thailand and Southeast Asia, but they’re also developing partnerships in the US, Switzerland, France, and China. China is a special case since one of the Pentabox investors and partners is Foxconn (yeah, that’s right, the guys who build lots of Apple gadgets). Penta currently has about 20 people working full-time and it’s actually one project of five that VC Group, Penta’s parent company, is working on.

For the far future, Jay is dreaming big:

In the beginning we target the “shared screen” application, but in the future, I think it will be beyond that. The internet of things, like any small device which needs intelligence, could be built with Penta. But that means Penta will also change the form factor to be smaller and consume less power.

Jay says that he got into this business because of his background in working at a telco. He realized that telcos need to offer more services on top of their pipes to differentiate themselves from other telcos.

So far, Penta has received about $2.5 million of initial funding and will be releasing its next product in the next few months.

To learn more about Penta, check out the video below: