Axilor Ventures, led by Infosys co-founders Kris Gopalakrishnan and S.D. Shibulal, and Kumar Vembu, co-founder of enterprise computing services provider Zoho, have invested in Open Appliances Pvt. Ltd. (Open App), a maker of industry-grade smart locks for enterprises. The firm said it had raised $5.50 lakh in this funding round. It would use the money to strengthen its product offering and expand into new verticals. The company said its smart lock offering is built on proprietary technology and it aims to disrupt the conventional key-based solutions. It said the technology makes access traceable, identity-controlled and intelligent. Open App is presently working with large customers in two verticals - internet service providers and warehousing. “We are excited about the volume of opportunity available in the physical security space in India,” said Gotama Gowda, co-founder of Open App, in a statement.
Wi-Fi Lock
The company said the global physical security equipment and services market is estimated to grow to $197.07 billion by 2019, where in-access control and access-control-as-a-service (ACaaS) account for $6.06 billion. With Open App’s smart lock solution, the lock acts as a Wi-Fi access point, emitting its own WiFi signal that enables a smartphone in a remote location to connect to its network and then operate it. The technology takes away issues involved with duplication of physical keys while providing management with detailed dashboards on employee access.
