UPDATED 20:47 EDT / OCTOBER 15 2019

EMERGING TECH

Smart lock maker Level Home launches with $71M funding and a Walmart deal

Home automation startup Level Home Inc. today launched out of stealth mode with $71 million in funding as well as a new smart door lock that integrates with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s InHome delivery service.

The funding came from Hut 8, Lennar Corp. and Walmart. Founded in 2016, Level Home’s “Level Lock” smart door lock is pitched as being a product “not just for the house, but for the people that make it home.”

Designed to replace a standard deadbolt with painless installation, the Level Lock comes with Apple Inc. HomeKit support, allowing users to operate the lock by Siri and receive real-time entry and exit notifications. Access to the lock can also be shared with family and friends.

“Many smart home products on the market today over emphasize technology and as a result complicate our everyday lives,” John Martin, co-founder and chief executive officer of Level Home, said in a statement. “We believe ‘smart’ products should blend in naturally with your home while offering you an improvement to your daily routines.”

Despite the public relations spin, it’s seemingly just another smart door lock. But where it becomes interesting and may rapidly find users is with the Walmart partnership.

levellockWalmart officially launched its InHome delivery service today in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Florida, with those signing up paying $49.95 to have a Level Lock installed at their home. Once the lock is installed, customers pay $19.95 per month for a subscription to the service.

InHome, as the name suggests, is about having goods purchased online delivered inside the home with the Level Lock giving access. Walmart “associates” use the Level Lock to enter the home to deliver goods ordered online including putting perishable items in a fridge.  Alternatively, customers with Nortek smart garage door also can use the service.

Given that customers are giving access to delivery people to their homes, Walmart is emphasizing several security features. In addition to requiring employees to have a year of service with the company, background checks and motor vehicle record checks, associates also wear a remote camera for additional security. Differentiating it from Amazon.com Inc.’s Key program that similarly allows goods to be delivered inside a home, associates are also given extensive training on how best to arrange groceries in a fridge as well.

The service is available in only three locations to begin with, but Walmart aims to roll the service out to new locations in the future.

Featured photo: Walmart; image: Level Lock

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU