The Infrastructure Behind Your Smart Home
When your SharkNinja robot vacuum connects to Wi-Fi and the app just works, there's a good chance Ayla Networks is the reason why. John Grady leads that platform - the invisible layer that makes device makers look smarter than their hardware.
Grady joined Ayla Networks in January 2022, not as an engineer or a founder, but as the person hired to sell the thing. Head of Global Sales. Twenty-plus years in technology had taken him from a private banking desk at Brown Brothers Harriman to the wireless broadband trenches at Covad Communications, through a six-year run at UK-based Pace PLC navigating the cable box business before ARRIS absorbed it in 2016, and into the clean energy stack at ChargePoint (EV charging) and Solar Mosaic (solar lending).
Each stop tracked a market transition: from connectivity to clean energy to connected products. Ayla was the logical next address.
I am thankful for the Board entrusting me with leading Ayla into this next phase. With our skilled team and top tier customer base, we will continue to set the standard and drive innovation as the market leading platform for the ever evolving smart home industry.
- John Grady, on becoming President, May 2024In May 2024, founder-era CEO Jonathan Cobb moved to Chairman, and Grady took the reins as President - later CEO. The transition wasn't a rescue operation. Ayla had already won. The platform was processing hundreds of billions of device transactions annually, serving brands from De'Longhi to Canadian Tire, Kenmore to Schneider Electric. Grady's job was to keep winning - and to aim bigger.
On The Hardtech Podcast, Grady described what actually matters in IoT product development: the first 30 seconds of setup. Not the cloud architecture, not the firmware stack - the moment a consumer plugs in a device and tries to connect it. That window, he argues, is where connected products succeed or fail in the market. It's a detail-level obsession dressed up as strategy, and it's exactly the kind of thinking that differentiates Ayla from infrastructure vendors who optimize for uptime dashboards nobody reads.
Grady's team has activated more than 13 million devices across 50+ global brands and built a Fast Track program that lets manufacturers launch connected products by reusing battle-tested hardware and software components - shaving months off typical development cycles. The pitch isn't "we'll build your IoT platform." It's "we've already built it, and SharkNinja and Owlet and Fujitsu are already running on it."
Ayla Networks at Scale
Google Cloud, Global Reach, and What Comes Next
In April 2025, Ayla Networks announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud. Read between the lines: this is infrastructure positioning for the next decade. Scalability for massive deployments. Enhanced uptime. Regional privacy compliance for a platform operating across North America, Asia, and Europe. And - most notably - access to Google's AI and machine learning capabilities.
By combining Ayla Networks' proven smart home connectivity solutions with Google Cloud's robust cloud capabilities, customers worldwide can enjoy the benefits of reliable uptime, optimized support and operational expenses, and enhanced customer satisfaction.
- John Grady, on the Google Cloud partnership, April 2025The same month Grady was discussing device setup UX on podcasts, he was also overseeing a new testing facility in India and a doubling of Ayla's office footprint in China. The company picked up Espressif's Most Valuable Partner Award in March 2025. These aren't press release moments - they're signals of a company building durable global infrastructure, not chasing a quarterly spike.
Grady has also articulated a thesis that extends beyond the smart home: IoT innovation is migrating from consumer gadgets toward medical wearables, industrial infrastructure, and connected energy systems. Ayla supports the Matter standard - the protocol co-built by Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung to make smart home ecosystems interoperable - which positions the platform in any device category that adopts it.
Ayla supports Matter, the cross-ecosystem interoperability standard co-developed by Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung.
Reusable hardware and software components let brand customers launch connected products faster, cutting typical dev cycles significantly.
Operations across North America, Asia, and Europe with compliance for local privacy regulations in each region.
Google Cloud partnership opens access to AI/ML capabilities, with smart camera platforms and AI-powered features already in development.
A Career Built on Transitions
Grady's resume is a map of technology's biggest shifts over 20 years - banking to broadband, hardware to software, fossil fuel alternatives to connected infrastructure. Each move makes sense in retrospect. Almost none of them were obvious at the time.
Began career at one of the oldest and largest US private banks. Learned capital markets, client relationships, and financial operations before pivoting to technology.
Spent approximately six years at the DSL broadband provider, leading customer operations and product teams during the early internet infrastructure era.
Held senior sales responsibility for Pace's software and services business. Navigated the company through its acquisition by ARRIS International in 2016.
Held global sales leadership roles at the leading EV charging network, driving international channel expansion during critical growth years.
Led sales at the clean energy fintech lender, one of the largest solar loan providers in the US, during the early 2020s residential solar financing boom.
Joined Ayla Networks to lead the global sales organization. Significantly expanded brand partnerships and deepened relationships with smart home device manufacturers and retailers worldwide.
Named President following a strategic leadership transition; predecessor Jonathan Cobb moved to Chairman. Subsequently serving as CEO, overseeing platform growth past 15 million connected devices and the Google Cloud partnership.
Where It Started
B.A. in Economics - the analytical foundation beneath two decades of technology sales and operations leadership.
MBA with a concentration in Finance - sharpened with capital markets thinking from his time at Brown Brothers Harriman.
What Gets Built
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Led Ayla Networks past 15 million activated connected devices globally under his tenure as sales leader and CEO
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Ayla ranked #1 US-based Smart Home Platform by ABI Research, the leading IoT market intelligence firm
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Negotiated and announced strategic Google Cloud partnership (April 2025), enabling AI/ML integration and global-scale infrastructure for smart home brands
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Grew platform to 250 billion annual device transactions - more than many global financial payment networks
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Expanded global operations with India testing facility and doubled China office footprint in 2025
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Ayla received Espressif's Most Valuable Partner Award (March 2025), recognizing platform excellence across connected product ecosystems
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Grew Ayla's customer portfolio to 50+ global brands spanning smart home, consumer electronics, energy, and retail sectors
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Ayla recognized on Inc 5000, Financial Times Americas Fastest Growing Companies, and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists
Recent Updates
- Apr 2025 Announced strategic Google Cloud partnership - enhancing scalability, reliability, and AI capability across Ayla's smart home platform.
- Mar 2025 Ayla Networks receives Espressif's Most Valuable Partner Award for platform excellence.
- Feb 2025 Global expansion: new IoT testing facility opened in India, Ayla's China office doubled in size to serve growing Asia-Pacific customer base.
- May 2024 Named President of Ayla Networks following strategic leadership transition; founder Jonathan Cobb moves to Chairman role.
- Feb 2024 Ayla Networks announces video solutions integration via partnership with Meari Technology, expanding smart home platform capabilities.