Now that the Internet of Things is becoming a more household term, every manufacturer of any electronics device is now considering connected versions of their products. Thermostats were just the beginning. Here come door locks, refrigerators, lighting, even wearables.

And there are no shortage of companies that want to be the software platform of choice as well as the hardware chip provider (For a full analysis see my recent report “IoT platforms: an emerging market”). There’s a potentially massive market for IoT platforms that can easily slot into any device for low cost, eliminating the need for the device maker to develop any of that IP in house, which in most cases isn’t really feasible.

To that end, startup Electric Imp recently raised a $15 million Series B funding from investors that included both VCs and electronics manufacturing superpower Foxconn, better known for its relationship with Apple. Foxconn’s involvement is a vote of confidence for IoT as a whole as the company likely is eyeing future manufacturing contracts it believes could grow from IoT device proliferation.

Electric Imp’s founder is Hugo Fiennes, who was an early member at Nest. Fiennes noted to Techcruch after the raise:

“I found myself flush with Google cash after the Nest acquisition. I’m slightly sad that I didn’t stay because then I’d never have to work again….Personally I believe the market Imp is addressing is huger than what Nest could address,” he said.

Fiennes is right that the market in dollar terms will be massive for IoT platform providers. Though there’s going to be a lot of competition as many startups enter the space, like Ayla Networks, ThingWorx and Xively. And perhaps more importantly, the margins that these startups are able to negotiate remain to be seen. This will likely turn into a volume game as millions of devices become connected and the company that can provide excellent pricing at scale along with the most robust hardware and platform will lead.

Right now the hardware that most platform provider embed runs about $5-6 per device, though Fiennes has said pricing should come down once chip makers combine Wi-Fi with a microprocessor on one chip. That sub 5 dollar price point, which often includes cloud hosting and management of software and data, makes it increasingly attractive for device makers interested in being able to offer connectivity in their product. Additionally there are often side benefits for product manufacturers iterating on products because they get data on how those products are being used.

Electric Imp has introduced its Wi-Fi modules in consumer products like GE and Quirky’s smart wall air conditioning unit. And the startup has been fairly consumer focused though it has its eye on the industrial space where Fiennes believes there’s a greater opportunity for long term revenue owing to the fact that industrial systems tend to have longer life spans than consumer devices. There are also potentially greater software service and analytics products that can be sold to an industrial customer that a consumer customer may not be interested because once the consumer product is sold, there’s no more revenue at stake. Industrial applications, meanwhile, continue to evolve and value can be created over time as, for example, a warehouse fine tunes its assembly line or distribution systems.

It’s still early days for all of these platform makers but they’re attracting capital. I often heard from the founders a few years ago that they were having to explain to investors what the IoT was and why it would matter. It would seem that that is no longer the case. Rather, I’d expect the conversation today is about why a given startup’s technology is differentiated enough to compete in what will be a tough market.