New funding: Seattle startup Deako Lighting raised $12.5 million as part of a Series B round to fuel growth of the company’s smart light switch technology.
The business: Deako’s “plug and play” light switches allow homebuilders and homeowners to easily swap in high-tech, remotely controlled lighting. Its technology works off a home’s existing wiring and lets homebuilders market their projects as smart homes, without a lot of upfront cost. “Our core value proposition is we make it super simple for homeowners to personalize their home lighting in really cool and powerful ways,” said COO Wes Nicol.
Traction: Deako said its product is becoming an “industry standard” in new home construction. It has commitments to install the light switch in 1 out of every 8 new single-family homes built in the U.S., and landed a key deal in December with D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. homebuilder by volume.
The startup is adding two new markets every week and said it is experiencing double-digit monthly compounded revenue growth. It expects to double its 25-person headcount this year.
Tailwinds: The housing boom is helping boost business for Deako, as well as an increase in home personalization caused by the pandemic as people spend more time at home. The smart home market is also growing and expected to reach $46.6 billion by 2025, up from $28.8 billion this year.
Leadership: CEO and founder Derek Richardson was an early employee at BlackBerry and spent 12 years at Cypress Semiconductor. He leads Deako with Nicol, who also worked at BlackBerry and was an exec at SAP.
“We feel the world has spent far too long with light switches physically hard wired into our walls, with high voltage current, complex wiring and the need for special tools to swap out,” Nicol told GeekWire.
Investors: Participating investors in the Series B round were not disclosed. Total funding for the 6-year-old company is $36 million. Previous backers include Columbia Pacific Advisors; Promus Ventures; Alumni Ventures Group; Partech; Innolinks Ventures; and angels.
