abode systems Receives Majority Stake Investment from Italian-based Home Automation Giant Nice S.p.A.
The investment will give the home security brand additional resources to expand, pursue international distribution and continue product innovation.
Palo Alto, CA – April 17, 2018 – abode systems, a leader in do-it-yourself smart home security, today announces a strategic investment from Nice S.p.A., a global home and building automation company based in Oderzo, Italy. Through the transaction, which was public as of Friday, April 13 and reported to the Italian stock exchange, Nice will acquire 75% of abode systems with the remaining stock held by abode founders.
Abode was originally founded in 2014 by former ADT executive Christopher Carney and launched on Kickstarter in 2015. The home security startup combined professional-grade security with desirable and popular smart home features and a powerful home automation engine to create what is now a well-developed smart home security space. To date, abode has raised $2 million through crowdfunding and a seed funding round and has grown to over 15,000 users largely through organic reach and word of mouth. The Nice investment allows abode to expand to meet current demands, continue to innovate and deliver new functionality to the platform and new form factors and compete in a crowded market.
“abode was an early leader in the now well-defined do-it-yourself smart home security space and we’ve worked relentlessly with a grassroots approach to build a product that was simple, flexible, robust and always worked to keep our customers’ homes safe,” commented Christopher Carney, CEO and Co-Founder of abode. “The Nice group sees abode as an opportunity to leverage what we’ve built to grow their brands in North America and to allow us to expand and remain competitive as well as pursue global markets. We appreciate Nice’s focus on design and user experience and look forward to joining forces with them to continue to innovate to make abode the most sought-after choice for smart home security in the market.”
In a prepared statement, Lauro Buoro, founder and Chairman of Nice S.p.A. said:
“It is a strategic operation for the Group which will allow us to expand on our product range to include the Home Security sector for installers and end users, thereby strengthening Nice’s leadership position in USA and North America, a market that is enjoying growing demand for connected Home & Building Automation and Home Security solutions. This partnership represents important leverage in the direct dialogue of Nice with its end user yet safeguarding the Business to Business distribution channels and services offered to professionals; it also offers up innovative opportunities of integration between various platforms and extraordinary, highly profitable cross-selling options with potential partners in the insurance sector, as well as the range of additional subscription services. 25 years after Nice was founded, this is another step forward in the international growth process, in the portfolio of products and services offered by our group, characterized by a strong focus on digitalization, to become the point of reference in the supply of cutting-edge solutions on a global scale, in the home security and Smart Home industry”.
Abode plans to continue to work hard on its product roadmap, including the summer release of iota, their next generation gateway with built-in HD camera and HomeKit compatibility previously introduced at CES 2018.
For more information on abode, visit www.goabode.com or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
About Nice S.p.A.
Established in the early 1990s and listed on the STAR Segment of Borsa Italiana, Nice S.p.A. is international reference company in the Home and Building Automation and Home Security sector, with a comprehensive offering of integrated automation solutions for gates, garage doors, solar shading systems, parking systems, wireless alarm systems and home security, for residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The Nice Group has launched a strategic plan for geographic growth and the extension of its product portfolio and connected platforms, in order to offer a wide range of customisable, user-friendly options for the end user. It is also seeking to strengthen and expand on markets with high growth potential, enhancing and renewing its branding to compete on new market segments. Nice exports its products, which combine technological innovation and design, to over 100 countries, generating more than 90% of the Group’s consolidated revenues abroad. www.niceforyou.com