Smart Thermostat Company ecobee Announces $35 Million Funding Round from Amazon Alexa Fund, Thomvest and Relay Ventures

Investment Marks Amazon Alexa Fund’s Largest Investment To Date

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ecobee, the company that brought you the smarter Wi-Fi thermostat with
room sensors, today announced that it has closed on a funding round from
the Amazon Alexa Fund, Thomvest and Relay Ventures. The financing
enables ecobee to continue developing leading connected home
technologies that make people’s lives simpler and better.

“These investments enable ecobee to drive significant operational
improvements, profitable growth and future product innovations for our
customers,” said Stuart Lombard, President and CEO of ecobee. “We see
this as a strong vote of confidence in our market-leading products and
the growth potential of the connected home market.”

Since its founding in 2007, ecobee has experienced more than 100 percent
year-over-year growth, and has recently been named No. 1 on Navigant’s
annual Smart Thermostat Leaderboard rankings. ecobee’s rapid growth
demonstrates the company’s technical expertise and the exciting promise
of the connected home industry.

The ecobee3 smarter Wi-Fi thermostat with room sensors was the first
thermostat to be directly compatible with Amazon Echo through the Alexa
Smart Home Skill API, offering homeowners the added convenience and
comfort of controlling room temperature with their voice. In addition to
voice control through Alexa-enabled devices, the ecobee3 delivers an
average of 23 percent savings on household heating and cooling bills.*

“This funding round marks our largest single Alexa Fund investment to
date and builds on our existing relationship with ecobee, who was
instrumental in helping us build the Alexa Smart Home Skill API,” said
Steve Rabuchin, Vice President of Amazon Alexa. “We’ve been impressed
with ecobee’s innovative smart home technologies and their ability to
improve the everyday lives of homeowners. We’re excited to see what the
future holds for this growing company and the new voice experiences
they’ll bring to Amazon Alexa customers.”

“ecobee’s sharp focus on product design and execution has enabled it to
surpass competitors within the crowded connected home market,” said
Stefan Clulow, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at
Thomvest Asset Management. “We look forward to supporting the company as
it continues to win customers and increase market share in this
fast-moving sector.”

“We see considerable room for growth in this industry, with ecobee
well-positioned to build upon its previous successes,” says John
Albright, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Relay Ventures. “ecobee has
continued to impress us with its top user ratings across consumer
channels, and we believe the company’s products will remain leading
performers in the market.”

About ecobee

ecobee Inc. introduced the world’s first smart Wi-Fi thermostat to help
millions of consumers save money, conserve energy and seamlessly bring
home automation into their lives. The newly launched ecobee3 has been
praised for its pioneering room sensor technology to deliver comfort in
the rooms that matter most, its simple touchscreen interface and native
mobile app, leading it to become a top-selling smart thermostat on the
market today and achieve a No. 1 ranking on Navigant’s Smart Thermostat
Leaderboard. Find out more at ecobee.com.

About Amazon Alexa Fund

The
Alexa Fund—named for Alexa, the cloud-based voice service that
powers Amazon Echo and other devices—provides up to $100 million in
investments to fuel voice technology innovation. Whether that’s creating
new Alexa capabilities with the Alexa Skills Kit or building devices
that use Alexa for new and novel voice experiences using the Alexa Voice
Service, the Alexa Fund is open to anyone with an innovative idea for
how voice technology can improve lives.

About Thomvest

Thomvest Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto-based investment management
firm controlled by Peter J. Thomson. Thomvest makes investments in
companies that leverage disruptive technologies and business models to
pursue high-growth commercial opportunities. We are committed to the
success of our entrepreneur partners. The capital we invest is our own,
enabling us to be more creative, flexible, strategic and patient than
most investors. It takes time to build great companies and Thomvest is
committed to supporting its entrepreneurs throughout their journey. To
learn more about Thomvest and its affiliates, please visit us at www.thomvest.com.

About Relay Ventures

“Relay Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in
passionate entrepreneurs disrupting incumbent industries and creating
new markets with the power of mobile computing. Relay exclusively
focuses on mobile-first technology (from the sensor to the cloud),
creating an unparalleled set of networks and resources that tangibly
help founders build world-class companies. With offices in Menlo Park
and Toronto, the firm is active throughout North America.”

*Visit www.ecobee.com/savings
for more information.

Contacts

Edelman
Clare Marshall, (312) 233-1253
clare.marshall@edelman.com