Reinsurer Munich Re has led a funding round for smart home technology firm Span, raising $20 million to support growth and provide integrated energy solutions for homes.
Span’s electrical panel enables users to monitor and control their home energy, promoting more convenient and sustainable living.
Munich Re Venture’s HSB Fund was joined by the Amazon Alexa Fund this latest funding round, alongside existing investors.
Span began shipping the Span Smart Panel to customers in the summer of 2020 and plans to leverage this latest investment to further expand its reach to homeowners and develop new product offerings.
“As investors and partners, respectively, Munich Re Ventures and HSB are excited to support Span’s efforts to encourage the adoption of clean energy solutions through their intelligent energy products and technologies,” said Matthew McElhattan, Investment Director at Munich Re Ventures.
“Arch Rao’s vision for Span aligns with our mission to close the digital gap, improve customer experience, and advance the sustainable use of energy.”
Span is also announcing Alexa voice integration, allowing customers to monitor which Alexa-enabled devices are using power and turn them off or on remotely.
Arch Rao, founder and CEO of Span, also commented: “The upcoming decade will be about home electrification and accelerating the adoption of clean energy. It’s great to add investors that are aligned with our long-term vision and will help Span bring innovation to the energy and home service markets.”
“We see these Amazon Alexa voice controls as an important step in making consumers aware of their personal energy use and make controlling every aspect of their home more accessible and convenient,” Rao added.
Paul Bernard, Director of the Amazon Alexa Fund, further stated: “As Amazon continues to expand its smart devices portfolio and home services business, we see Span’s energy control and automation as an important new area for innovation which will add value to our customers.”
