EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jasper’s planned $1.4 billion acquisition by Cisco is a sure sign that IoT is moving towards the “mainstream” of the industry, proclaimed Jahangir Mohammed, CEO and founder of the start-up.

Speaking to Mobile World Live a few weeks after the deal was confirmed (approval is still pending), Mohammed said the valuation of his company “is appropriate considering what we can bring”, as he predicted a rapid uptake of IoT services from enterprises in particular, going forward.

“We have 3,500 enterprises deployed and I believe this will grow to hundreds of thousands,” he said. “We are in the early innings at the moment, and growth will be awesome.”

The proposed acquisition ended long running speculation that Jasper would continue to operate as a standalone player by going through an IPO, while network specialist Cisco made its intentions in the IoT segment clear through the deal, vowing to build on Jasper’s existing platform.

Mohammed also revealed the company had been “heads down” on preparing for an IPO, when it became clear that Cisco, an existing partner, was actually the right fit all along.

To watch the full interview, click here.