Foreign smart light bulb company LIFX raises $12 million in venture capital

　　LIFX makes multi-color LED light bulbs priced at $99 and controlled via Wi-Fi. Last week, the company announced it had raised $12 million in a Series A funding round. In late 2013, the company created the most successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign ever, raising $1.3 million in just six days against an initial goal of only $100,000. This investment brings LIFX's total funding to $16.6 million.

　　The great success of its crowdfunding campaign brought LIFX to the attention of Silicon Valley venture capital firms, who saw it as proof of a growing market. "Without Kickstarter there would be no this round of funding," said CEO Phil Bosua. However, some early backers were quite dissatisfied with LIFX, because they had not yet received their LIFX bulbs when they saw the product already on sale at Amazon and Best Buy. The shipping delays were due to factory delays, said Bosua – they were contractually required to ship to large retailers within specific deadlines.

　　Bosua says LIFX continues to add new features to its app, such as preset mood modes and music-activated settings, and is about to launch an overall redesign. Bosua believes that bulb electricity accounts for 20% of global residential electricity, so they need to become more energy-efficient, smarter, and longer-lasting. The energy-efficient LIFX bulb is designed to last 25 years, and can be screwed into standard light fixtures. You can adjust the brightness through the mobile app, choose a color from 15 million possibilities, or select from a range of different white lights.

　　"LIFX is one of the fastest growing and most promising smart home companies," said Omar Hamoui, partner at Sequoia Capital, in a press release. "Phil and his team have truly transformed humanity's first consumer electronic device: the light bulb. As connected home technology becomes more widespread among consumers, LIFX light bulbs will become an entry point, because they are easy to install and ready to use out of the box, becoming an everyday necessity. As LIFX is committed to providing the best home innovation experience, we are more than happy to support them."

　　LIFX plans to use these funds to carry out the next phase of its business. The company is recruiting engineering, sales, and marketing personnel in Los Altos and Melbourne, Australia, and will continue to expand its operations in both locations.