New York-based Nucleus, a connected home intercom company, announced today they raised a $5.6 million Series A funding round. The round was led by the Alexa Fund, with participation from BoxGroup, Greylock Partners, FF Angel (Founders Fund), Foxconn, Liquid 2 Ventures and SV Angel.
Nucleus makes a touchscreen home intercom device that can be installed in multiple rooms to allow FaceTime-like communication from one room to the next or even from your mobile device while outside the home via an app. The company expects this technology will be particularly useful for families and has designed the app and devices to be simple enough for any demographic to use — unlike many IoT devices, which are marketed to tech-savvy consumers.
The approach seems to be working, and after becoming available online in August, the devices sold out within one day. They are available on Amazon at the moment and Lowe's carries them nationwide.
“It’s incredible to receive this level of support in such a short period of time,” said Jonathan Frankel, co-founder and CEO of Nucleus in a statement. “It speaks to the importance of our shared vision: Bringing families closer together with ease and convenience through world-class technology. Amazon has been a stand-out supporter since day one and recognizes the value Nucleus is bringing to families nationwide, and the rapid market traction we’re seeing within our growing community.”
In addition to the funding news, Nucleus also announced they had acquired Ily, a New York-based home phone device company that was funded earlier this year through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Ily raised $134,016 to make a very similar device designed as a hub for children to be able to communicate with their parents. No details of that deal were publicly available.
This latest round of funding brings Nucleus’ total to $10 million, and the company said it will be used to further marketing efforts, as well as accelerate research and development. The company was founded in 2014, and has offices in New York and Philadelphia.
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