ecobee closes $80 million funding round

Smart home innovator ecobee Inc. announced that it has closed on an $80 million CAD Series C funding round led by Energy Impact Partners, followed by eight institutional investors including Thomvest, Relay Ventures, and the Amazon Alexa Fund. This funding will allow ecobee 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 $190 million 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,” said 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, according to NPD data, ecobee has captured more than a third of the smart thermostat market and experienced over 100 percent year-over-year growth, demonstrating strong market demand. 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 the power of voice and intelligence to every room.

ecobee’s smart thermostats are compatible with the company’s signature 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 in the rooms that matter most. It also helps homeowners save energy by adjusting settings based on occupancy. To date, ecobee customers have saved an estimated three 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.

“ecobee is one of the fastest-growing connected home companies and a leader at bringing voice into the home,” said Lindsay Luger, Partner at Energy Impact Partners who will be joining the ecobee Board of Directors. “Their product suite delivers comfort, ease and entertainment, while at the same time reducing costs and environmental footprint by optimizing what usually represents half of a homeowner’s electricity bill.”