HOMI Smart Home raises US$1.3m in seed round

SMART home products and services provider HOMI Smart Home has raised US$1.3 million in a seed round led by SeedPlus, AngelCentral and Xoogler Angels.

Funds raised will go towards scaling up the smart home services aspect of the business with new installers and architects in Asia.

Founder and chief executive Amar Dhillon told The Business Times that HOMI will be hiring installers and smart home architects and consultants who will sell the firm's products and services. These architects will oversee smart home projects and incorporate HOMI's products into these projects.

The startup believes that the absence of a proper smart home ecosystem in the region and the lack of smart home services result in low penetration rates for smart homes in Asia, it said in a press statement. This fuelled the firm to build products tailored to the Asian market.

"The culture of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) doesn't really exist. Therefore, we decided to focus on providing smart home services to help bridge the gap for consumers interested in getting a smart home. We believe that smart home services are key to the entire experience," Mr Dhillon said.

HOMI aims to alleviate the current situation by offering customers an entire set of smart home products for the region with consultation, installation and support for about US$2 a day.

Plans to launch a comprehensive suite of smart home products through affordable payment plans in the next quarter are underway. This will allow customers to customise their homes with devices that will include light switches, smart locks, cameras and modules to control various appliances. All of these will be controlled using one integrated app.

Founded in 2017, HOMI seeks to address commonly overlooked aspects of creating a smart home, which revolve around set up and support. After receiving initial funding, the startup went on to introduce devices that could be installed by a certified electrician in a home within three hours.