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HOME REAL ESTATE

Former Apple and Cisco engineers are 'sneaking'
cheaper, energy-saving tech into buildings. See the
pitch deck they used to raise $4 million.

Alex Nicoll Feb 27, 2023, 4:00 AM

Domatic CEO Jim Baldwin and COO Gladys Wong. Domatic

Smart-building tech promises to save energy, but adoption is slowed by high
costs.

Two tech veterans launched Domatic, which they say marries smart-tech and
wiring at a low cost.

Domatic's founders walked Insider through the pitch deck they used to raise
seed capital.

Jim Baldwin, cofounder and CEO of Domatic, has had a storied career in the
tech world.

His accomplishments include working on an early iteration of Apple's FireWire
cable, a precursor to the modern USB cable that transmits both data and power.
He also served as CTO of Microsoft's television department and was a vice
president of Intel's digital home group.

When smart home products began to take off in the early 2010's, Baldwin
became obsessed with Nest cameras and security systems. At the time, Nest
only let users run ten devices on their home network, but Baldwin wanted 11.
He "broke" the system with that last device, he said.

Frustrated, Baldwin rang up a friend at Nest. He wanted to fix the product's
limitations, but alas, it wasn't his job.

"There's a parallel universe where I had gone to Nest," to help develop its
products, Baldwin said.

Instead, in this universe, he met Gladys Wong, a career chip and hardware
gineer who had stints at Cisco, Qualcomm, and Marvell Technologies.

The two ran Antimatter Research — a consulting group that worked with
startups — until founding Domatic in 2019. Simple electrical wiring that puts
smart home technology in the hands of electricians would be the new
company's goal, and draw from Baldwin's early work at Apple and satisfy his
obsession with Nest.

Wong and Baldwin tackled two problems preventing the adoption of smart
building technology: it's too expensive and difficult to roll out in scale. Smart
tech, which often requires wiring separate power and data cables to devices that
then connect to a central control room, can add 30% to the cost of electrical
installations, Baldwin said. Most contractors don't even have the skills to do it,
he added.

The Domatic solution: low-voltage wiring that mitigates risks and that doesn't
require installation by a licensed electrician. It carries power and data, and
eliminates the need to run devices off WiFi or an ethernet connection.

"This is sneaking the smart system into the building" through the wiring,
Baldwin said. "It's more energy efficient and leads to a better building for less
effort and less cost."

The company has installed its wiring into new commercial buildings and is
targeting gut renovations and smaller residential projects in the future. To fuel
growth, it raised a $4 million seed round, led by construction-tech specialists
Brick & Mortar Ventures, with participation from Catapult VC, Alchemist, and
Third Sphere, at the end of last year.

Wong and Baldwin walked Insider through the pitch deck they used to raise the
round.

Domatic leads the pitch deck with a statement of its mission
to power sustainable buildings.

Domatic

This slide claims that Domatic's electrical system is cheaper,
more energy efficient, and easier to install than traditional
wiring.

Domatic

This page shows the long and fruitful careers of the company's founders.

Domatic

This page shows how smart buildings reduce emissions but
have high electrical costs. The result is that few new builds
actually have automated systems.

Domatic

This page uses a photo to show just how complicated
traditional AC wiring can be.

Domatic

The company's technology relies on low-voltage wiring. This
provides for easier and lower-cost installation, and reduced
energy consumption.

Domatic

Domatic combines low-voltage power with a data connection.

Domatic

The company sees huge markets in new construction and
renovations across all building sectors.

Domatic

This page links to a YouTube demo of a central power hub
connected to a bunch of smart devices.

The video shows how wiring can be re-arranged while the power is on, and how
devices can be chained together and set up with multiple switch configurations
without having to build in many more wires. These sorts of things are
impossible with traditional wiring.

"This is the type of thing that blows electricians away," Wong told Insider. "They
think it's magic.

The final page of the pitch deck reiterates the company's
vision, and provides direct contact info for CEO Jim Baldwin.

Domatic