ecobee Inc. announced it has closed on a $61 million USD Series C funding round led by Energy Impact Partners, followed by eight institutional investors including Thomvest, Relay Ventures, and the Amazon Alexa Fund.
The company says the funding will allow it to build upon its suite of smart home technologies connected by whole-home-voice control, sensor technology and artificial intelligence. It brings ecobee’s total funding to approximately $146 million USD to-date.
“Our goal is to build a home that learns and anticipates your needs, making your home an intelligent space that simplifies your life rather than complicates it,” says Stuart Lombard, president and CEO of ecobee. “We believe that by building voice capabilities, advanced sensor technology and powerful A.I. into the operating system of your home, we are helping to create a new computing platform. This technology will transform the way consumers interact with their favorite services for the better.”
Since its founding in 2007, ecobee has captured more than a third of the smart thermostat market (NPD data) and experienced over 100 percent year-over-year growth. In 2017, ecobee introduced the ecobee4 smart thermostat with built-in Amazon Alexa voice control. Later this month, ecobee will launch its Alexa-enabled smart light switch, ecobee Switch+, bringing voice control to its units.
The investment from Amazon may not coincidental. Amazon recently announced it would stop selling Google Nest products on its website.
ecobee’s smart thermostats are compatible with the company’s room sensor technology, which measures temperature and occupancy in up to 32 rooms of the home. This technology increases comfort by solving for hot or cold spots. It also helps homeowners save energy by adjusting settings based on occupancy. To date, ecobee customers have saved an estimated 3 terawatts of energy which is equal to preventing 2.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. This would be the same as taking the city of Pittsburgh off-the-grid for a year.
“We’re excited to continue our support of ecobee through participation in its Series C financing and our broader work together across a number of important Alexa capabilities,” said Paul Bernard, director of the Alexa Fund at Amazon.
Additional institutional investors contributing to ecobee’s Series C investment include, North Leaf Capital Partners, Export Development Canada, Ontario Capital Growth Corporation, Tech Capital and GXP Investments. Barclays served as financial advisor for this transaction.
