Why Lux Invested In Latch
By Zack Schildhorn
I put 3 things in my pocket each morning.
The first is my phone. It is my connection to work, family, and friends. My remote control for the world. My camera. My lifeline.
The second is my wallet. A skinny vestige of its prior self, it now carries just a few pieces of plastic. It will no doubt soon disappear entirely, swallowed by that first thing in my pocket, plastic bits swapped out for digital ones.
The last thing? My keys. Without them I can’t access my home, office, mailbox or car. And I wonder: why is it that we still need to carry those bulky, jangly pieces of metal? A key just represents information encoded in physical form, the cut grooves a unique credential matched to a receptacle. In a world where information flows so ubiquitously, shouldn’t those metal bits become digital too?
Most of us recognize that in the future, keys will be a relic of the past. But when and how? It wasn’t until we met the Latch team that we became convinced of the answers to both. Latch was the first company we met that not only understood how to do away with the key, but had the greater vision of universal access control.
Most of the doors in the world are not in single family homes, but rather in large commercial and residential properties. There are billions of them across the globe. The mechanical locks on these doors must meet high security standards and are reliable, but not flexible. As a result, they hide many costs along with the contents and spaces they protect: Duplicating a key; Sharing one with someone else; Giving many people access to the same space; Revoking access; Changing locks; Accepting a delivery when no one’s around; and Granting access for a short window. In a world where physical access is controlled by a physical object — a key — all of these seemingly simple actions involve human time, real expense, and often a fair bit of stress. Office complexes have full time staff devoted to controlling access. Large residences employ on-site key safes or on-call locksmith services. Deliveries get missed to the chagrin of recipients. On top of that, with a physical access system, there is no way to authenticate that those granted access are the ones obtaining it. Who really used that key, that code, or that fob?
The world we live in is quickly changing. Technology has enabled the rise of an on-demand economy that relies upon seamless exchange of information, goods and services. On top of that is the need for trust. Today, that trust stops at the front door. Latch is building the first universal platform to enable trusted parties to access physical spaces, simply and securely, starting with the apartment and office buildings where we live and work.
The team — led by founders Luke Schoenfelder, Thomas Meyerhoffer and Brian Jones — impressed us not just with technical wizardry or thoughtful design (they have both in spades), but also with deep customer insight and a flexible platform strategy that expands far beyond a single product. They understand the need for security and reliability, but also the importance of convenience, simplicity, and ease of use. And by embedding intelligence at the point of access, they’re building for a world where any space — be it a 1,000-unit property, personal home, or post box — can be securely and seamlessly accessed.
We’re pleased to announce Latch’s $10.5M Series A financing, led by Lux. In addition, we are joined by some outstanding co-investors, including some of the biggest names in real estate. It’s a true testament when your customers also want to be your investors. The team has been an absolute joy to work with since our first meeting, and we’re thrilled to partner with such an ambitious and impressive NYC-based hardware startup. We’re excited for the future they’re unlocking.
