X2M Connect is wiring Asia's smart cities and it's only getting started
From solar farms to safety alarms, this Aussie tech is everywhere
The company is scaling fast across the region
Smart cities are no longer futuristic puzzles, they're being built in real time across Asia.
From Seoul's live 3D model of the city to India's purpose-built GIFT City, the region is racing to stitch data into the fabric of daily life.
And with investment surging and AI stepping in as the city's co-pilot, urban living is getting a full-blown tech makeover.
Into this rapidly evolving ecosystem steps X2M Connect (ASX:X2M).
If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone.
But this Aussie outfit has quietly become the digital spine behind some of Asia's smartest cities.
X2M owns a patented software platform that connects almost any device – old or new – to the internet, collects data and sends instructions back, often without needing a human to step in.
'Our business is data aggregation, data management and data distribution,' CEO Mohan Jesudason explained to Stockhead.
'We can collect data from any device – analogue, digital, smart, dumb. We see ourselves as a software platform that is a key enabler of artificial intelligence."
He adds that smart devices can be connected quickly, while older ones can be retrofitted with a chip to send and receive data, making nearly any machine controllable through X2M's platform.
And that's exactly what it's doing today across half a million devices and counting in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the UAE. From utilities to AI
X2M's platform started in water and gas, replacing manual meter reading with real-time digital data.
In cities like Gochang, South Korea, it helped detect leaks, improve billing and even uncovered more than 200 welfare cases where residents had stopped using water.
In Japan, it's used to predict when bottled gas will run out, cutting truck trips and slashing supplier costs by nearly 20%.
But while the early focus was utilities, the ambition was always bigger.
Today, that same platform powers solar forecasting, smart city systems and emergency response.
In June, for example, X2M signed a $3 million deal to roll out 100,000 'Help Me' safety devices across Seoul, linking directly to police and CCTV in real time.
'It gives the police your exact location, and directs all the public CCTV cameras to you, so that they can track you to help,' said Jesudason.
The project could scale to 1 million units, he said, showing X2M's platform was now critical infrastructure.
Jesudason breaks the AI value chain into three layers: engines, data aggregation and management.
'In that data collection space, there are lots of hidden gems. That's an undiscovered, in my view, valuable layer.'
And that is exactly where X2M is staking its ground. Solar, smarter
One of X2M's biggest growth areas is renewable energy.
Through its Hive.AI platform, built in partnership with UAE-based Sirius Digitech, X2M provides data that helps solar operators forecast demand, detect faults and boost efficiency.
In Taiwan, Hive.AI delivers forecasts in 15-minute intervals for up to 30 days with better than 90% accuracy (according to the company's data).
And when you're managing a solar farm with 100,000 panels, that level of insight is crucial.
'You might have a few thousand panels that are not working or that are about to stop working. And our AI engines can tell you that these panels are not working,' said Jesudason.
The platform helps lift earnings by up to 10%, cut costs and improve decision-making.
'We are the provider of data for artificial intelligence applications in the renewable energy space,' Jesudason said. Fast to deploy, easy to scale
According to Jesudason, X2M can also deploy its solution in a new market in a matter of days, thanks to its microengine and network-agnostic design.
'For instance, we've integrated into a large Indian company in under seven days, and we don't need any capex to scale up," he said.
India's massive 250-million-meter digitisation program is indeed a clear target for the company. 'We will move into the Indian market in the foreseeable future.'
So is the UAE, where X2M's partner Dicode has already secured two commercial contracts.
The company also expects Australia and the US to open up within 12-18 months.
And once X2M's platform is in, it tends to stick.
Switching away is expensive and in many regions, the platform is already listed on official government websites. What the market doesn't see, yet…
X2M is now entering what it calls 'Horizon Three", a transformation phase focused on scaling and hitting profitability.
Horizon One was about building and validating the platform. Horizon Two was expansion, getting enterprise and government customers onto the system and locking them in.
'Horizon Three is, how do you scale this business up? How do you take it to profitability? How do you end up with a share price that's many times what it is today?' Jesudason said.
He says X2M will become profitable when revenue hits $15–16 million, and from there, it's highly scalable.
'Once you get past that 15, 16 million dollar hump, then you tend to grow your earnings exponentially. And it's a business that spits out a lot of cash.'
'But I think right now, investors haven't got their heads around the value that's going to accrue to companies that can capture and manage and distribute data quickly, efficiently and cheaply."
The proverbial penny, he believes, will eventually drop that there is a lot of value to be had in this space.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While X2M Connect is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decision.
Originally published as X2M Connect is wiring Asia's smart cities and it's only getting started
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
31 minutes ago
- The Australian
StockTake: Future Battery Minerals
Stockhead's Tylah Tully takes a look at Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM), which has just uncovered seven broad gold targets at its Burbanks East project in WA. These newly identified targets align with existing geochemical anomalies, pointing to a strong potential for a significant gold discovery. Watch the video to learn more. This video was developed in collaboration with Future Battery Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This video does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
LLM secures $2m placement for next-gen exploration
LLM secures firm commitments for $2m share placement Management says funding round strong endorsement of Highway Reward acquisition Fresh capital for drilling at Highway Reward supported by AI-driven targeting and drone-based geophysics Special Report: Firm commitments to raise $2m through a targeted share placement have furnished Loyal Metals with plenty of capital to pursue exploration at the newly acquired Highway Reward copper-gold mine. With $5.8m in hand, Loyal Metals (ASX:LLM) intends to channel the funds into modern exploration techniques and drilling at Highway Reward, including AI-driven targeting and drone-based geophysics. Very little work has been done at Highway Reward since it was last mined in 2005, having produced 3.65Mt at 5.6% copper and 260k tonnes of gold at 4.5 g/t and until 2005. Loyal Metals managing director Adam Ritchie said the overwhelming demand for the placement reflects the strong support for the company's innovative approach in embracing next-gen exploration technologies. 'We are committed to thoroughly revisiting the unique opportunity presented by Highway Reward,' he emphasised. 'Our strategic move into copper-gold is further strengthened by the potential that Highway Reward offers investors. 'The mine has remained dormant for over 20 years and was last evaluated using 1997 commodity prices. 'Given the significant increase in commodity values since then, the mining leases warrant a fresh assessment for their remnant mining potential and significant exploration upside.' Modern exploration, long-term strategy Loyal Metals intends to explore Highway Reward with a focus on copper mineralisation, although the company will also be taking advantage of any gold potential. A 680% increase in copper prices and a 1256% increase in gold prices since the project was last formally evaluated in a feasibility study offers LLM a lucrative opportunity to take advantage of 28 years of commodity growth. Loyal sees potential for both remnant mining opportunities targeting left over sulphide gold mineralisation and new targets along strike and at depth, below previous mining boundaries of just 220m for the open pit and 390m for underground operations. 'We plan to integrate high-resolution MobileMTd drone survey data with existing exploration and mining datasets, leveraging AI-powered mining software to generate drill targets at depth and along strike,' Ritchie said. 'This integrated approach positions Loyal Metals at the forefront of modern mineral exploration.' LLM expects to begin drilling at the Highway Reward Mine within the coming months. This article was developed in collaboration with Loyal Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Weebit's IP fuels ReRAM ambitions
ReRAM is rising as Flash runs out of road Weebit's licensing model starts to deliver real dollars Big customers, big market, $8.07 target on the table Special Report: Weebit Nano's ReRAM tech is quietly locking into billion-dollar markets with a licensing model most ASX investors are only just starting to understand. If you want to understand why Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT)is starting to draw attention in the semiconductor world, you've got to start with a deceptively small acronym: ReRAM. Short for resistive random-access memory, ReRAM is part of a new breed of memory technology that's been waiting in the wings while Flash memory hogged the spotlight. But as the world moves towards AI-powered edge devices and autonomous everything, Flash has hit a wall. ReRAM, on the other hand, is built to scale - which is why Weebit is showing up on a few more investor radars. The case for ReRAM In today's world of edge computing - smartwatches, self-driving cars, factory floor sensors - devices are expected to do more with less. They need to be smart, secure, fast and frugal with power. The problem is that traditional Flash memory isn't playing ball. It simply can't shrink down to the chip sizes modern applications demand. That's where ReRAM shines. Read later: Why Weebit's ReRAM tech looks ready for the next era of smart devices Instead of storing data using electric charge like Flash, ReRAM does it by tweaking resistance - meaning it's less power-hungry and easier to embed directly onto the same chip as the processor. 'ReRAM seems to be the number one replacement technology. But we're not there yet, Weebit's not there yet, although making good progress, last week announcing its first product licence,' said Andrew Johnston, a senior analyst at MST Access. 'But we know that people can get there, we've got the example of TSMC.' Johnston said that TSMC, the world's most advanced chip manufacturer, was the only other company to successfully commercialise ReRAM. But because they develop and use their own tech, that leaves the rest of the global market - 85% by Johnston's estimate - wide open for Weebit to chase. Inside Weebit's IP engine Unlike traditional chipmakers who spend billions building factories (or "fabs"), Weebit doesn't manufacture anything. Instead, it licenses its ReRAM technology to other companies who integrate it into their chips. 'There's just not a lot of this sort of company listed in Australia,' Johnston observed. And that's why many ASX investors might not yet grasp just how powerful an IP licensing model can be. It's an asset-light approach that could prove highly rewarding, especially once the royalties start to roll in. 'The chip manufacturers license technology from Weebit to use in the manufacture of the chips they make. 'Receipts from customers that Weebit recorded is the payment of those licence fees. But it's the royalty payments where the big dollars are.' Here's how the model works: A chip manufacturer like onsemi or DB HiTek signs a licence agreement and pays an upfront fee. Then comes the technical dance known as 'qualification' - embedding Weebit's IP into their chipmaking process. That alone can take 18–24 months. Once done though, royalties start flowing every time those chips are sold to end customers. This isn't niche; it's the same licensing model used by industry giants like ARM, and even TSMC still licenses its IP. And because Weebit doesn't need fabs, inventory or warehouses, its gross margins are, frankly, off the charts. 'Gross margins on these businesses are going to be 90% or more,' said Johnston. 'There's no massive investment in capex, and not a lot of friction in between.' Validation from a giant For those still questioning Weebit's commercial traction, the January licence deal with US$25-billion market-capped onsemi (NASDAQ:ON) marked a huge step forward. onsemi is a Fortune 500 company, a Nasdaq 100 heavyweight, and, most importantly, a major supplier of chips to the automotive industry. 'They're a really important company,' Johnston pointed out. 'New cars have something like 1,000 chips in them and with Weebit's technology, the auto sector is a particularly important segment.' That deal wasn't just symbolic. According to Johnston's estimates, the upfront payment from onsemi may have landed between $2–3 million, seven to nine times what DB HiTek paid. That kind of cheque says more about the customer's conviction than the cash itself. 'The upfront fee is a rounding error compared with the dollars the chip manufacturers have to invest to get that technology into their manufacturing. 'It's a major sign they believe in the product.' And once the IP is embedded, it stays put. 'The process is a long one but once it's embedded, it tends to stick, bringing in revenues for years to come.' Why MST thinks Weebit could rise 4x Weebit shares are trading around $2.17, but MST has a valuation of $8.07 on the stock, almost 4x upside. That figure is based on a DCF model to FY33, with assumptions around licensing growth, royalty potential and business scalability. 'I can point you to a pathway to that $8,' Johnston said. 'The addressable market is probably number one. Number two, the quality of the IP and the validation. And then there's no capex, it can scale quickly.' Still, investors need to be patient. MST's forecasts only expect $4 million in revenue for FY25, rising to $9.6 million in FY26 and $30 million by FY27 - when royalty payments are expected to really kick in. So for those chasing strong franked income, Weebit might not be the right fit - at least for now. Licensing in a time of uncertainty The chip industry is indeed going through a generational shift. Building new fabs now costs tens of billions. As a result, even global leaders are becoming IP customers, opting to license tech like Weebit's rather than reinventing the wheel. Weebit has already signed two major customers, secured its first design licence with a product company last week, and is aiming to lock in two more IDM or foundry deals, plus two product company agreements, by year-end. Qualification with DB HiTek is the next major milestone. The company's tech has already passed AEC-Q100 automotive-grade standards and DB HiTek is preparing live demos of Weebit-enabled chips - a key signal to the market. DB HiTek is a foundry, making chips for other companies. On the other hand, onsemi is what's known as an integrated device manufacturer or IDM; they make and use their own chips. The difference matters, because IDMs often move faster from qualification to royalty generation, said Johnston. In short, there are many doors, and Weebit's knocking on all of them. This article was developed with support from Weebit Nano, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
