VCIR – Control4
Control4 is a home automation device company. I have personally looked at their stuff on multiple occasions although I have not bought any of their stuff. The CEO is Will West. They have raised $80M to date and are not profitable. They have 185 employees. They predict revenue growth from $40M last year to $60M this year.
Since inception they have attempted to control, ahh everything. Their company launched with over 25 devices with everything from music control to security. The vision is to be the Microsoft of home control. The market for this home control is currently $600M. In order to widen this market they are expanding into hospitality market. They are also expanding into large commercial markets where at the top end they will compete with Johnson Controls. They envision a play where their control technology is built into home gear rather then an add-on.
Here's what I think, these guys are really wide. Every time I look at his company I think how can you be successful with a shotgun approach? Another major concern I have is without real standards in this space this continues to be a risky space. On the counterpoint, if they become the standard then obviously that's valuable. I can't help but think to succeed here you have to focus. If they can transform into the technology license company I get it, if not, not.
It will be interesting to see how Control4's largely proprietary architecture stacks up against the various emerging wireles home-automation standards such as Z-Wave and ZigBee. Z-Wave, for one, has made some great moves towards standardization of complex device profiles (things beyond simple automated light switches, etc.), and has a pretty impressive list of industry partners (100+). Control4's stuff is top-notch though, and these guys have one of the best trade-show presences I've seen in the HA industry (excluding heavyweights like Crestron).
Posted by: Elliot Turner | 2008.02.27 at 08:28 PM
I'd forgotten, Control4 is based on ZigBee. Their controller / node system is still largely proprietary, however.
Posted by: Elliot Turner | 2008.02.27 at 08:31 PM