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Notes -
I'm convinced a lot of it is malinvestment due to loose monetary policy. If we weren't in ZIRP for years, those VCs would have to fund stuff that actually has a chance of turning a profit rather than something that just sounds like a good idea.
There are legit IoT things that are useful but they don't really fit into the kitchen-widget-but-with-computer framework. Smart grids, automotive communications, logistics, medical, agriculture; there's lots of actual applications of cheap networked MCUs that people don't think about and rely on every day. Your car's backup camera was probably sold to the investors as "IoT" at some point.
But somehow "IoT" came to mean either gimmicky chinese lightbulbs or kitchen appliances that make you pay a subscription. Probably because you have to use fancy buzzwords to make people swallow that crap.
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