home-automation
(4)
HOMMA Group, Inc.
HOMMA Group is a Palo Alto-based smart-home developer that builds residences with proprietary technology baked in from day one, rather than bolted on by the resident afterward. Founded in 2016 by former Sony and Rakuten executive Takeshi (Ted) Homma, the company designs the architecture, hardware, and software together so lighting, shades, thermostats, and door locks adapt to residents automatically. Its Cornerstone AI platform lets builders embed and remotely manage smart systems across multi-unit developments, with projects spanning Portland townhomes, a Boston high-rise, and a 30-unit Portland tower built with Mitsubishi's Diamond Realty Investments.
Brilliant Smart Home
Brilliant Smart Home (Brilliant NextGen, Inc.) makes smart home control simple by replacing a wall of light switches with an in-wall touchscreen that runs lighting, climate, music, intercom, cameras, and smart devices from one panel and one app. Founded in 2015 in San Mateo, California, the company sells control panels, smart dimmer switches, and smart plugs to homeowners, home builders, and multifamily property managers. After a 2024 bankruptcy and acquisition by Almeida Strategic Investments, it relaunched as Brilliant NextGen with a builder-and-integrator focus and a second-generation Power over Ethernet platform.
CANDY HOUSE
CANDY HOUSE, Inc. is the consumer-hardware company behind Sesame, the retrofit smart lock that mounts over an existing deadbolt with adhesive tape and turns a smartphone, fingerprint, card, PIN or face into a key. Founded in 2014 by Stanford engineer Jerming Gu and famous for a 2015 Kickstarter that raised about $1.4M, the company built an open ecosystem around SesameOS - locks, touch and face readers, a coin-sized Matter hub, sensors and finger robots - aimed at making smart-home access affordable, rental-friendly and developer-open.
The Bot Company
The Bot Company is a San Francisco robotics startup building a helpful home robot for everyday chores. Founded in 2024 by former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt with Paril Jain (ex-Tesla AI) and Luke Holoubek (ex-Cruise), the team is creating a non-humanoid robot designed to give people their time back from household drudgery.