Seed Labs builds the Silvair Control, a removable, Nest-shaped gesture-driven Bluetooth controller that can tap, slide, and spin to manage lights and appliances. The company also commercialized an open chip interface and is embedding specialized Silvair chips into OEM products. Article notes OEM placements worldwide, including Fremont, CA–based Soraa using the technology in connected LED lamps. The Control is designed to form a native, flexible system where devices talk directly to each other and can be configured via a smartphone app. Seed Labs has raised $3.3 million to build out the product and expand chip integrations. The team plans to demonstrate the technology at TechCrunch Disrupt and push the product into appliances and commercial products; no operating metrics were reported in the article. Seed Labs has built a small Bluetooth Smart chip that can be embedded in household appliances so devices show up automatically on compatible phones and are easy to control. The company targets a B2B licensing model, selling the chip to appliance makers while developing software out of Krakow, Poland. Seed Labs emphasizes simplicity and consumer-friendly interfaces, including iBeacon compatibility and a Nest-like proximity knob under development. Its demo shows plug-and-play behavior, permanent device memory, and remote control features such as timed kettle boiling and lights control. The company says it is betting on Bluetooth Smart as a game changer for IoT and aims to make connected products approachable for ordinary users. Seed Labs is now based in San Francisco and has announced availability of its chip line alongside a $1 million angel investment that closed today.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2015