In a new announcement, Owl Labs, an IoT video conferencing company, has emerged from secrecy and dropped the news of a $6 million Series A financing round, led by Matrix Partners. Founded by CEO Max Makeev and CTO Mark Schnittman, both formerly of iRobot, the company is building an IoT video conferencing hardware product with the goal of creating the inclusive meeting experience remote employees need and deserve.
“As much as the internet has improved the way remote work gets done, we've got a long way to go,” said Antonio Rodriguez, General Partner at Matrix and early investor in Oculus VR. “After seeing Owl Labs' prototype for the first time, it was clear that this could be the missing piece that helps remote participants feel as though they were in the room.”
Owl Labs was seeded by Playground Ventures and was the first company to join Playground's West Coast Design Studio, both founded by Android (News - Alert) co-creator Andy Rubin to take advantage of the IoT hardware advances brought by the smartphone revolution. After choosing Boston as their home to build the company, the cofounders quickly attracted seasoned talent, including Karen Rubin and Rebecca Corliss, both among HubSpot (News - Alert)'s original 50 employees. Owl Labs also has six former iRobot employees joining the team of just under 20.
Owl Labs’ new technology will be one of the first IoT devices for the company conference room. The product is a USB audio and video device designed to optimize remote employees’ meeting experiences. The company will share full product details at the launch this summer, and the product will be available for purchase later this year.
Request an invite to Owl Labs' limited beta at http://www.owllabs.com/beta. Be among the first to hear when the product is available by signing up at http://www.owllabs.com/first.