LED Maker Xicato Plots Move into “Internet of Lights”

As an executive at Philips, Gerard Harbers developed technology that helped expand the use of LED lighting in TV monitors, streetlights, and outdoor signs. But when it came to the LEDs in his own home, he couldn’t stand the quality of light.

Motivated by his own experience, he co-founded Xicato to create light from LEDs that matches the quality of halogens, the industry’s gold standard. The company developed an LED light source—an electronic component about the size of two stacked quarters—that goes into light fixtures used in museums, stores, and other public places where the quality of light matters.