Barter For Things
Barter For Things is a UK IoT product development SME that designs LPWAN sensor hardware (Jellyfish, Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War, AirQ) and the PROG cloud platform to help water utilities, port operators and horticulture growers monitor consumption, leakage and emissions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersEastleigh, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Barter For Things does
Barter For Things Ltd (trading as Barter 4 Things, B4T or Thingmongers) is a privately-held UK IoT product development SME founded in Eastleigh in 2016 and commercially launched in 2018 by managing director Alex Barter. The company designs, manufactures and deploys low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) sensor hardware and the PROG cloud analytics platform to solve water-leakage, maritime-emissions and horticulture-yield problems for UK infrastructure operators. Its core hardware lines are the Jellyfish and Jellyfish Bridge devices (which up-cycle existing Arad, Diehl and Iton water meters into smart AMI-connected meters via patented on-board decryption and remote key handling, transmitting OMS EN13757 over Sigfox, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN or MIoTY with up to 15-year battery life), the Man o'War multi-sensor platform for greenhouse horticulture, and the Air Quality Monitor (AQM/AirQ) for maritime and port emissions monitoring. The PROG platform aggregates sensor and third-party data on a Kubernetes-orchestrated, containerised architecture (Postgres DBaaS, FastAPI, vue.js v3, Docker) and exposes a RESTful API, while the EVA overlay combines Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War and AQM data with blockchain-based energy provenance and a deep-learning ANN to optimise port decarbonisation.
The business sells through a direct enterprise sales motion into UK water utilities and ports (named customers include Southern Water, South West Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Affinity Water, Northumbrian Water, Portsmouth International Port and Brittany Ferries), supplemented by a self-serve 100x property starter pack for UK and European trials, consortium-led project delivery (notably the £19.8m ZEVI-funded SEA CHANGE shore-power project), and a Fargro Platinum Partner channel for horticulture. Revenue is generated across hardware unit sales (£35 per Jellyfish, £7 per household via Jellyfish Bridge), PROG platform-as-a-service subscriptions, project-based custom integration and managed network services, and operation of more than 100 IoT network sites across the UK. Capital structure is tightly held by the founder and management team (Ashley Head as chairman, Michael Bateman as CFO, David Pickett as operations director, Jamie Roberts as senior solutions architect), with only a ~$191k seed round from The FSE Group disclosed in November 2018; subsequent growth has been substantially co-financed by UK and EU grant programmes including Innovate UK, Ofwat/Nesta, Interreg 2 SEAS PECS and DfT's UK SHORE programme via the ZEVI competition.
Barter For Things firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Barter For Things
- Legal name
- Barter For Things Ltd
- Website
- https://barterforthings.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Barter For Things is a UK IoT product development SME that designs LPWAN sensor hardware (Jellyfish, Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War, AirQ) and the PROG cloud platform to help water utilities, port operators and horticulture growers monitor consumption, leakage and emissions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Barter For Things industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IoT Solutions for Utilities and Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)
- SIC
- Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824), Water Supply (4941), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Network Monitoring & Smart Water Sensors (Pressure/Flow/Noise Loggers, IoT) (EUANAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Active Leak Detection & Acoustic Surveying (Ground Mics, Correlators, Hydrophones) (EUANAKAA), Water Quality Monitoring (Surface Water, Stormwater, Drinking Water) (EUAHACAC), Commercial/Residential Building Water Management & Leak Analytics Services (HSAHAGAK)
Keywords
Where Barter For Things is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eastleigh
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Barter For Things business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Hardware unit sales (Jellyfish / Jellyfish Bridge): Sale of proprietary smart-meter devices at low unit cost (e.g., £35 per Jellyfish for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water trial; £7 per household in the Affinity Water water-neutrality trial with one Bridge serving eight households). Scaled to mass deployment across utility and port estates.
- PROG platform / software (PaaS): Platform-as-a-Service revenue from the PROG cloud software that aggregates, decodes, visualises and orchestrates sensor and third-party data, delivered with continued development under a rolling 2-year feature roadmap.
- Custom solutions, integration and managed services: Project-based revenue from end-to-end product development, sensor customisation, network build/operate, installation, data delivery and ongoing managed services (e.g., Sigfox aerial and LPWAN deployment, custom solar PV builds, dashboard delivery to clients).
- LPWAN connectivity / network operator services: Operating more than 100 IOT network sites and developing products for NB-IoT, LoRaWAN and Sigfox, with telco site acquisition, build and operate contracts under UK maintenance agreement — implying managed connectivity / network services revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Jellyfish device at £35 per unit |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Jellyfish Bridge at £7 per household (one Bridge serves 8 households) |
| Other | Multi-year contract | 100x property starter pack for UK & European trials |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Barter For Things product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Barter For Things designs, manufactures and operates proprietary IoT sensor products (Jellyfish, Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War, AirQ/AQM) that up-cycle existing water meters into smart connected devices over LPWAN, monitor greenhouse horticulture conditions, and measure port/maritime air quality. These hardware products are sold alongside the PROG cloud data aggregation and visualisation platform (Platform-as-a-Service) and the EVA maritime decarbonisation analytical overlay, delivered as integrated solutions to UK water utilities, ports and commercial horticulture operators.
Product overview
Barter 4 Things (B4T) is an IoT product development SME offering a platform-plus-modules architecture. The PROG cloud software platform sits at the centre, aggregating and visualising sensor and third-party data and exposing a RESTful API. PROG is paired with four core hardware product lines — Jellyfish (high-volume battery-powered utility monitoring) and Jellyfish Bridge (AMR-to-AMI conversion that rescues stranded meter assets) for the water sector, Man o'War for horticulture sensing, and the Air Quality Monitor (AQM / AirQ) for maritime and port air quality — plus the EVA analytical overlay, which combines Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War and AQM data with blockchain-based energy provenance and a deep-learning ANN to optimise renewable interventions across port operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Jellyfish: Low-cost IoT device that up-cycles existing water meters into connected smart meters using LPWAN (Sigfox, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, MIoTY); battery-powered for 15+ years.
- Jellyfish Bridge
- Man o'War
- Air Quality Monitor (AQM / AirQ)
- PROG
- EVA
Products and services
- Jellyfish Battery-powered (15+ year), low-cost IoT utility monitoring device that up-cycles existing water meters into smart connected meters over LPWAN (Sigfox, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, MIoTY), paired with PROG software and a consumer App for PCC reduction and leakage elimination at UK water utilities.
- Jellyfish Bridge Unique AMR-to-AMI conversion solution that captures short-range AMR drive-by/walk-by transmissions from up to 4-8 meters, on-board decrypts them, and re-transmits over LPWAN using a single SIM/vSIM/Token to overcome deep-pit connectivity issues for UK water utilities, prolonging existing meter assets.
- Man o'War Custom-interfacing horticulture sensor platform with edge processing and machine learning that digitises temperature/RH, infra-red plant EMP (producing VPD), and soil conductivity/temperature/moisture (producing VWC) for greenhouse crop protection, using Sigfox for long-range rural connectivity.
- Air Quality Monitor (AQM / AirQ) Maritime-tailored 'smart box' that measures CO2, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, SOx and particulate matter (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4, PM10), integrates AIS vessel data, weather and port traffic over LPWAN, and exposes a dashboard UI for port air-quality operations and PAQS compliance.
- PROG Cloud-based IoT data aggregation, brokerage and visualisation Platform-as-a-Service built on Kubernetes-orchestrated containers, Postgres DBaaS, Docker (linux-python), FastAPI and vue.js v3; aggregates sensor and third-party data, exposes a RESTful API, and bundles modules including MANIFEST, INSTALLATION App and deviceStatus.
- EVA Maritime decarbonisation overlay that combines Jellyfish Bridge (energy), Man o'War (battery demand) and AirQ (air quality) data with blockchain-based energy provenance and a deep-learning Artificial Neural Network to optimise renewable interventions across port operations, people, place and mobility.
Quantifiable outcome
- Jellyfish device unit cost of £35 with 15-year battery life
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Barter For Things
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Barter For Things technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Barter For Things partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- FargrocoreDescribed as a 'Platinum Partner' on the Man o'War product page. Fargro offers edge processing of alarms and alerts for Man o'War soil/moisture sensors as a special feature to commercial greenhouse growers.
- UnaBiz / UnabizcoreSigfox network operator (UnaBiz) logo on B4T homepage; B4T Jellyfish devices use Sigfox LPWAN for connectivity (e.g., across Channel, Biscay and North Sea in the EVA maritime solution).
- Brittany FerriesflagshipSEA CHANGE consortium partner introducing two new LNG-electric hybrid ferries from 2025; B4T Jellyfish sensors generate energy data and Man o'War transmits battery demand to the shore-power system used by Brittany Ferries' hybrid vessels.
- University of PortsmouthflagshipSEA CHANGE consortium partner bringing academic expertise in data science, smart power grids, innovation, and environmental impact analysis; also collaborated on 2021-22 Clean Maritime Demonstrator (SHAPE) air quality work.
- MSE InternationalflagshipSEA CHANGE consortium partner stimulating investment across private and public sectors and developing commercialisation strategies for the decarbonisation project.
- IOTICSflagshipSEA CHANGE consortium partner creating a 'digital twin ecosystem' allowing all project partners to select and share data securely, integrated with B4T's sensor data streams.
- SwanbartonflagshipSEA CHANGE consortium partner supplying the smart control software for energy storage, complementing B4T's Jellyfish Bridge energy data into the shore-power system.
- Port of OstendecoreCollaboration partner on the Interreg 2 SEAS PECS-funded AirQ smart box project; similar air quality sensors are being fitted at the Port of Ostende in parallel to the Portsmouth International Port deployment.
- GrapevinersminorBehavioural change experts collaborating with Affinity Water and B4T on the Mid-Bedfordshire water neutrality trial to interpret Jellyfish data insights and customer behaviour change.
- IWNL (Independent Water Networks)minorIndependent water and sewage provider for the Bidwell/Houghton Regis area working with Affinity Water and B4T on the Jellyfish device trial for water neutrality.
- H2OiQminorManufacturer, supplier and installer of water efficiency products partnering with Affinity Water and B4T to evaluate new fittings and interventions on business properties using Jellyfish data.
- Central Bedfordshire CouncilminorLocal authority partner on the Mid-Bedfordshire water neutrality trial, working with the local community to test smart metering and water efficiency interventions.
- Northumbrian Water / NWL Innovation Festival 2019coreConceived the Jellyfish Bridge idea at the NWL Innovation Festival 2019 as a response to an open challenge to reduce inefficiencies in water consumption; co-developed a first-of-a-kind AMR-to-AMI solution that up-cycles existing water meters.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Barter For Things competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Itron: Global leader in water, electricity and gas smart-metering AMI/AMR solutions. Directly comparable to B4T's Jellyfish and Jellyfish Bridge in offering LPWAN and cellular smart-water endpoints, managed network services and utility analytics, but at vastly larger global scale and with established utility framework contracts.
- Badger Meter: US-listed manufacturer of smart water meters, AMI endpoints and analytics. Comparable to B4T in delivering connected water-metering hardware plus cloud analytics, and overlaps with B4T's deployment on Arad/Iton legacy meter upcycling (Badger Meter owns Arad and Diehl metering brands), making it both a partner and a competitor in legacy-meter digitisation.
- Kamstrup: Danish smart-metering specialist offering smart water, heat and electricity meters with wireless M-Bus and LPWAN connectivity plus analytics. Directly comparable to B4T Jellyfish/Jellyfish Bridge in Europe for AMR-to-AMI conversion of legacy meter estates.
- Diehl Metering: German smart-meter manufacturer (Izar radio and HYDRUS ultrasonic water meters) with LoRaWAN and wM-Bus connectivity. Direct peer in LPWAN water metering in European utilities and a possible integration partner given B4T's Jellyfish deployment on Diehl/Iton meter bodies.
- Everynet: Global LoRaWAN network operator offering managed IoT connectivity for utilities, logistics and smart cities. Directly comparable to B4T's network operator and Sigfox/LoRaWAN connectivity revenue stream, particularly in European utilities and ports.
Broad incumbents
- Xylem (Sensus): Global water-tech major with its Sensus AMI platform (FlexNet LPWAN) serving utilities worldwide. Broadly comparable to B4T in the water-utility vertical and the dominant AMI incumbent against which B4T's LPWAN+upcycling play must compete in UK procurement.
- UnaBiz (Sigfox): Singapore-headquartered operator of the Sigfox 0G LPWAN network and B4T's named connectivity partner. Comparable as the underlying LPWAN technology provider that B4T's Jellyfish devices run on, and an enabler of B4T's channel-vs-network-operator business model.
Regional players
- Arqiva: UK communications infrastructure operator that runs national LoRaWAN and smart-metering network services. Comparable to B4T's managed LPWAN / network operator business (100+ IoT network sites), and a potential UK-wide wholesale connectivity partner or competitor.
Emerging players
- Actility: French LoRaWAN network server and IoT platform vendor (ThingPark) for utilities and smart cities. Comparable to B4T's PROG platform in providing carrier-grade IoT connectivity management plus application enablement, particularly for LPWAN-based utility deployments.
- Aeroqual: New Zealand-based manufacturer of air-quality monitoring sensors (PM, NO/NO2/O3) used by governments, ports and industrial operators. Directly comparable to B4T's AirQ smart box for maritime/port environmental monitoring and a likely competitor in the same regulated air-quality monitoring RFPs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Barter For Things social profiles
Digital presenceBarter For Things compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Barter For Things financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Barter For Things leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Barter For Things funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Barter For Things M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Barter For Things
What does Barter For Things do?
Barter For Things designs, manufactures and operates proprietary IoT sensor products (Jellyfish, Jellyfish Bridge, Man o'War, AirQ/AQM) that up-cycle existing water meters into smart connected devices over LPWAN, monitor greenhouse horticulture conditions, and measure port/maritime air quality. These hardware products are sold alongside the PROG cloud data aggregation and visualisation platform (Platform-as-a-Service) and the EVA maritime decarbonisation analytical overlay, delivered as integrated solutions to UK water utilities, ports and commercial horticulture operators.
Is Barter For Things a public or private company?
Barter For Things is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Barter For Things founded?
Barter For Things was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Barter For Things based?
Barter For Things is headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Barter For Things make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware unit sales (Jellyfish / Jellyfish Bridge) is the primary driver. The others are PROG platform / software (PaaS), custom solutions, integration and managed services and LPWAN connectivity / network operator services.
Who are Barter For Things's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Itron, Badger Meter, Kamstrup, Diehl Metering and Everynet. Broad incumbents are Xylem (Sensus) and UnaBiz (Sigfox). Arqiva is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Actility and Aeroqual.
Does Barter For Things have an API?
Yes. PROG software exposes a RESTful API (built on FastAPI) that aggregates multiple sensor and third-party data points and makes them available to Port Operations and R&D teams. It is referenced internally as the data delivery surface for downstream consumers such as South West Water's Temetra billing system. No public documentation URL, developer portal, sandbox or SDK is mentioned.
What industry is Barter For Things in?
Barter For Things's product category is IoT Solutions for Utilities and Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUANAKAB, Network Monitoring & Smart Water Sensors (Pressure/Flow/Noise Loggers, IoT), with a secondary code of EUANAKAA, Active Leak Detection & Acoustic Surveying (Ground Mics, Correlators, Hydrophones). Its NAICS code is 334514 and its SIC code is 3824.