LOS ALTOS, Calif. & MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LIFX, the innovations company behind the award-winning Wi-Fi enabled, multi-color LED light bulbs, today announced that it has partnered with Sequoia and raised $12M in Series A funding. The company also announced that its smart bulbs are now available worldwide with free shipping at store.lifx.co.
The partnership will help LIFX, which is on the forefront of the Internet of Things (IoT), make homes smarter and improve the way we live. Angel investors Guy King and Bevan Clark also participated in the round. Sequoia partner Omar Hamoui has joined the company’s board of directors.
“LIFX is one of the fastest growing and most promising smart home companies,” said Omar Hamoui, Sequoia Capital. “Phil and team have truly revolutionized the first consumer electronics device: the light bulb. As consumers adopt connected home technologies, the LIFX bulb will be a starting point because it’s easy to install and immediately useful on a daily basis. We couldn’t be happier to support them as they work to deliver the best home innovation experience.”
This Series A funding round follows one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns to date, garnering over $1.3M in pledges in just six days. The company shipped its Kickstarter pledge pre-orders in Q1 this year.
LIFX will use the capital to fund the next phase of its business. The company is also now hiring world-class engineering, sales and marketing teams to create best in class IoT products. LIFX has offices in Los Altos, CA and Melbourne, Australia and will continue to grow both operations. Interested candidates can apply to jobs@lifx.co.
“We’re amazed at the level of response we’ve received since our initial launch on Kickstarter in 2012. In the short time since the launch, we’ve worked to perfect our hardware, build a beautiful app and increase manufacturing to meet demand,” said Phil Bosua, CEO and founder of LIFX. “This partnership will allow us to accelerate the growth of LIFX and produce some of the world’s best IoT products.”
The investment brings LIFX’s total funding to $16.6M.
The Light Bulb Reinvented - now available to everyone
The LIFX smart bulbs can now be purchased online and shipped worldwide for free. To date, the bulbs were only available to Kickstarter backers and select customers as the company scaled to meet the overwhelming demand.
The LIFX smart bulb works just like a normal light bulb. Simply screw in the LIFX bulb and download the free app and you’re good to go; set up takes less than two minutes. LIFX gives you complete control of your lighting, with over 16M colors, dimming, save scenes, control individual lights, groups of lights and all lights with a single tap. Engage with effects like music visualization, candle flicker, lava light and more through the iOS or Android app. The LIFX bulb is 1,000 lumens and requires no hub so setup is easy. LIFX’s superior LED technology is four times more energy efficient than a traditional incandescent bulb. LIFX bulbs are equally useful in homes, retail and commercial settings.
LIFX offers three bulb models that retail for $99.00 USD each: Edison Screw, Bayonet Cap and Downlight (pre-order). Experience a virtual LIFX bulb at: virtualbulb.lifx.co.
LIFX has an open API platform so developers can freely develop apps and use cases to support the growing need for smart lighting throughout the world.
For more information please visit www.lifx.com.
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About LIFX
LIFX is an innovations company located in the Bay Area and Melbourne, Australia. Existing light bulbs are based on an archaic technology that threatens our environment. Light bulbs consume approximately 20% of electricity in homes around the world. They need to be more efficient, smarter and last longer. In the 21st century, people need lighting that matches the smart culture and eco-aware sensibilities of our day. LIFX answers a need that is well and truly overdue. LIFX is a privately held company backed by Sequoia Capital.