Kyle
When a startup lands itself in the Boulder flagship Techstars program and then catches the eye of startup evangelist and venture capitalist Brad Feld it’s typically a recipe for greatness. Just check out how well Orbotix, the creators of the “Sphero Ball” have done since their time at Techstars.
Another recent Techstars Boulder graduate is following in the robotic balls footsteps by landing an impressive Series A round and a top level executive. Mobiplug, a company that brings home monitoring, control and automation to the palm of your hand via an iOS app, just landed the capital it needs to accelerate development. They also landed the leader they need to take the startup to the next level.
Feld’s Foundry Group led the $2.7 million dollar round. TechCrunch reports that Bullet Time Ventures, SK Ventures, Social Leverage, and Clarion Direct Investment, among others, participated in the round as well.
Mobiplug also announced that serial entrepreneur Tim Enwall, most recently CEO of Tendril, is now at the helm at Mobiplug.
Mobiplug consists of a small black box, that serves as a control hub, and an iOS app. Through the combination of the hub and the app, the user/home owner, can control everything from the lights, to the thermostat, electrical outlets, sprinklers and more. This can be done in the home or remotely, providing an extra element of security to the user’s home.
New CEO Enwall said in a statement:
“Getting wirelessly-enabled household items like locks, thermostats, lights, outlets and shades made by different manufacturers and based on different protocols to talk to each other is an enormous problem to solve, which is keeping this market from exploding. We’re fixing that.”
The Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre is joining Mobiplug’s board of directors. He also served as Mobiplug’s mentor during the Techstars program.
“I was really impressed by the co-founders and their ability to solve the thorny technical and interoperability problems that are currently holding back the home monitoring and control and Internet of Things (IoT) industry from mass adoption,” McIntyre said in a statement. “And when Tim Enwall decided to join Mobiplug, we felt confident that the addition of his experience and leadership to this already talented core team could really disrupt the market and lead this growing space.”
Linkage:
Source: TechCrunch, DailyCamera
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