M&A, Strategies, Alliances Huawei has joined the ZigBee Alliance. An Alphabet executive has left the board of Uber, as the competition and conflict of interest between the two companies intensifies. UK utility British Gas’ owner Centrica has acquired FlowGem for £13m, a startup that specializes in smart home tech that can detect leaks in water pipes. Aeris and Sonata Software have announced a partnership that pairs Sonata’s software development expertise with Aeris’ M2M connectivity offerings. The Hyperledger Project has announced 17 new members for its Linux Foundation hosted blockchain consortium, including Samsung SDS, Quickbooks, Intuit, and Sany. The Thread Group has announced a liaison agreement with the EEBus Initiative, to collaborate on smart home device development. Sigma Designs has opened…