Nest Rival tado° Raises $50M From Amazon, Others

Munich-based tado°, the intelligent home climate management company, announced on Thursday (Oct. 25) that it has landed a $50 million investment from investors, including Amazon.

In a press release, tado° said other investors participating in the round of fundraising include E.ON, Total Energy Ventures, Energy Innovation Capital, Inven Capital, the European Investment Bank and others. With the latest round of funding, tado° has raised a total of $102 million. The company plans to use the funding to boost its market position by churning out new products and extending its services.

According to the startup, about 30 percent of global consumer energy is used for heating and cooling buildings. The company claims to be one of only a few that are dedicated to making an impact in the space. It noted that the global smart thermostat market is forecast to hit $6.8 billion by the end of 2022 at a projected annual growth rate of 54 percent.

“We are convinced that soon, every building will be heated and cooled intelligently. Now is just the right time to raise capital and utilize it to position us as No. 1 in this fast-growing market,” said Toon Bouten, CEO of tado°, in the press release announcing the capital raise.

According to tado°, its smart thermostats connect heating and air conditioning systems to the internet with an app that detects when residents are leaving or near their homes, or when windows are open, and set the temperatures accordingly. It also relies on weather forecasts and algorithms to contribute to reducing energy consumption, claiming to save customers up to 31 percent of heating costs.

“Feeling warm and comfortable at home is a basic human need,” said Christian Deilmann, co-founder and CPO of tado° in the same press release. “[Our] goal is to increase our customer value even more by investing the fresh capital into new services to fully manage our users’ home climate.” According to tado°, the typical family in Europe or the U.S. spends $1,000 to $3,000 a year heating and cooling their home.