Amber Solutions, a startup looking to commercialize digital control of electricity, raised $8.5 million in a Series B round.
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Building fixtures like smoke detectors and circuit breakers currently use electro-mechanical technologies. Amber, which is based in Dublin, California, is aiming to replace electromechanical switching with solid-state electronics on a path to silicon.
The company says its programmable solid-state power system can control the flow of electricity digitally. So, for example, if the lights go out in a building, the system can communicate that.
“With our technology, before you can even find your phone to call maintenance, maintenance already received a signal,” CEO Thar Casey said in an interview with Crunchbase News. “They know what caused it and they have wireless connectivity so they’ve solved it already.”
In other words, every outlet can act like a circuit breaker and, with the embedded intelligence software, it’s like it has a mini-computer inside. Amber’s technology’s sensor awareness can make buildings safer, according to the company, by detecting dangers like fire and gas leaks, and can be used in both residential and commercial properties.
“What we came up with at Amber is the second electrical revolution,” Casey said. “We came up with disruptive technologies that are going to be core of every electrical infrastructure of every building. We’re taking the electromechanical switching … and we’re replacing it with solid-state.”
The company, which is pre-revenue, will use the funding to hire more engineers, invest in the company’s new Roseville, California, office, engage with more manufacturing companies, and will allow Amber to start developing its silicon to turn its technology into a chip.
The Series B brings Amber’s total funding to about $14 million, with investors including family offices. The company first raised a $5.7 million Series A in May 2018. Companies in the real estate space overall received more than $8.5 billion in funding last year, according to Crunchbase data.
The next round of funding will likely be a corporate round with strategic partners, Casey said.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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