IoT PropTech Startup RYSE Inc. raises funds in its Series A Round from ah! Ventures Angel Platform

IoT PropTech Startup RYSE Inc. has raised funds in its Series A Round from ah! Ventures Angel Platform. This is ah! Ventures’ 17th investment in 2021 and 4 more investments will be announced shortly. This takes ah! Ventures’ total investment portfolio to INR 224 CR (~30 MN USD) with 84 investments in 67 startups and 11 exits till date (and 2 more exits in process).

RYSE Inc., the Internet-of-Things (IoT) company behind the SmartShade, is offering equity shares in the company to the US and international investors, through their online investment portal. With more than USD $4.5 million in lifetime revenue and USD $185K in pre-orders for its second-generation device, market demand has been clearly established.

RYSE creates a suite of retrofit devices targeting both residential homes and commercial buildings, that enables them to motorize and automate window shades. Their devices can be installed in minutes, controllable via smartphone, and integrates with leading home and building automation platforms, like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit.

Motorized window shades are one of the best investments a building can have to reduce building emissions and minimize energy consumption. With increasing legislation against building emissions, such as the Green New Deal & Local Law 97 that require buildings to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by specified targets, RYSE products are an effective solution for buildings to effectively meet both current and future regulations. Powered by software that leverages AI, sensors, and weather data, RYSE can also intelligently automates window shades to optimize energy savings that can lead to a 20% savings in cooling loads, and 24% savings in lighting.

The company launched in 2015 and has since established a solid supply chain network having shipped over 35,000 devices since 2017. In addition, RYSE graduated from several accelerators including OCAD’s Imagination Catalyst, NEXT Founders, Canadian Technology Accelerator, and the Digital Media Zone (ranked globally as the #1 university-based incubator in the world by UBI Global). RYSE also has ongoing partnerships with a number of commercial properties, including the ANNEX Hotel, EurekaHub, and QuadReal (a $44 billion global real estate developer and landlord).

“Our vision is to own the smart shades industry. We want RYSE to be synonymous with smart shades — just like what Nest is to the thermostat, Ring is to the doorbell, or Dyson is to the vacuum.”, said Founder & CEO, Trung Pham.

RYSE Inc. has raised over USD $3.5 million from notable angel investors and Venture Captalist, including GoodNews Ventures, Supporters Fund, EXOIO, Angel One, York Angels, Cogito Capital, Elemental VC, and Globalive. Notable investors include Shawn Doughtery, who co-founded smartphone battery case maker mophie, and exited for USD $100 million to Zagg, and Anthony Lacavera, who founded Wind Mobile and exited to Shaw for USD $1.1 billion.

The company is now raising USD $15 million via an online offering of shares, made possible in the U.S. through Title IV of the JOBS Act, which allows companies to acquire funding from accredited and non- accredited investors through what is known as Regulation A+. RYSE Inc.’s online public offering will be accessible for the U.S. and international investors

“Ryse is a great Startup in the Green Tech Space. Green Tech is a very exciting space across the world where a lot of investments are happening and Ryse is in the right space at the right time. Additionally, the product they have created is such an elegant and effective solution which makes it very easy for companies to adopt as well. The companies dont need to change their entire windows which would be extremely expensive, but use this easy innovative solution and save their electricity expenditure as well as help save the Environment.”, said Harsh Shethia, Venture Partner, ah! Ventures.

“When investing in startups, we consider the long-term growth potential, the strength of the founding team, and the mission of the company. RYSE ticked all the boxes and more.”, said Derek Luke, an investor and the CEO of InterAxon.

Interested in participating in the Current Round: Write to Abhijeet Kumar