Latch, a company which has created a smart lock for apartments, has just announced that it has raised around $70 million in its Series B round of funding. This latest round of funding was led by Brookfield Ventures, which is the investment portion of Brookfield Asset Management. As if the funding wasn’t enough, this deal also means that Brookfield Properties will be installing these Latch systems into its multi-family properties that it is currently building. Brookfield’s Josh Raffaelli stated “we are thrilled to support Latch, the clear market leader in a nearly $25 billion space that is expected to grow at twice the rate of traditional access over the next several years.”
Latch has designed a smart lock system that is specifically for apartment buildings, and not single family homes. This is because in apartments, tenants are not allowed to replace their lock, and they also need to allow the landlord to come in and do maintenance when needed. So with the Latch system, you can still unlock your door with a smartphone, keycard or door code, but you can also create temporary access codes for guests and service providers. Now the reason why this works well in apartments, is because landlords can change the locks very easily when someone moves out. So they don’t need to collect and redistribute keys when someone moves out, and someone new moves in. Making it much easier for both the landlord and the tenant.
Not only has Latch been working to get these smart locks installed in apartment buildings, but it is also working with UPS. The partnership with UPS is going to allow drivers to deliver your packages inside your home. This is similar to what Amazon wants to do with its Amazon Key program. This way Amazon and other retailers don’t have to deal with as many stolen packages. And of course, your package is inside your home, where thieves can’t get to it.