OAKLAND, CA--(Marketwired - May 7, 2015) - Lucid, creator of BuildingOS, the leading cloud-based software for integrated building management, today announced that GE Ventures has joined Lucid's Series B funding round as an investor, bringing the total Series B raise to $14.2 million. Additional Series B investors include Formation 8, Zetta Venture Partners, and Autodesk. Lucid will use the funds to expand its software capabilities, which address the growing need to connect, analyze, and manage disparate commercial building technologies as the proliferation of IoT devices unlocks new opportunities and challenges in commercial building management.
Ben Sampson, GE Ventures, Energy, said, "Lucid's technology is rapidly connecting many disparate building systems together, making the vision of truly connected buildings and real-time management possible. At GE Ventures, we see a huge opportunity in enabling a more responsive built environment, and are excited to help Lucid lead in this area."
Lucid plans to use these funds to accelerate key platform capabilities of BuildingOS, the cloud operating system that connects more than 160 hardware and software building technologies within one easily accessible and collaborative interface. Additionally, Lucid plans to expand its suite of enterprise applications, including new tools for Finance, Building Operations, and Facilities teams, as well as management of multi-tenant real estate. These role-specific applications are designed to enable employees -- rather than expensive vendor technicians -- to easily and effectively optimize and balance energy costs, comfort, and productivity.
"At Lucid, we believe that the buildings industry is overdue for transformation and that interoperable and easy-to-use software is the key to unlock tremendous opportunities," said Vladi Shunturov, CEO of Lucid. "We are thrilled to have the support of some of the most significant buildings and technology industry veterans to collaborate with us as we unlock the buildings market and bring software innovation to an industry where not much has changed in decades."
Lucid Positions Itself for Rapid Growth
Commercial buildings represent the largest and most tangible IoT opportunity today. IDC Energy Insights forecasts Smart Building Technology to grow from $6.3 billion in 2014 to $17.4 billion in 2019 (CAGR 22.6%). This shift is coming as the buildings industry is under intense pressure to control growing energy costs, optimize tenant comfort, and meet growing efficiency goals and regulations.
For intelligent buildings to take advantage of low-cost sensing technology and the benefits of data-driven decisions, the emphasis needs to fundamentally shift from hardware to software. Lucid's mission is to redefine the commercial building space in a people-centric way and bring software innovation to an industry that has witnessed little of it, enabling disparate building systems to be connected and controlled via a single operating system, BuildingOS.