Everyone wants to be more secure, at least that is the sentiment that Adam Sager, CEO and co-founder of Canary, is using to fuel his company’s momentum with.
At an event Wednesday night for the New York-based startup, Sager gave a tiny glimpse of what Canary has been up to lately.
Canary’s wireless smart home security device has a camera and sensors that users can monitor through mobile gadgets. Burglaries, arson, and cases of abuse have been caught by Canary, which Sager said has users in 117 countries. In some cases, video and audio from Canary devices has been used by the police to capture perpetrators of crimes. “The idea for us is to give security to the masses, democratize it in a way that hasn’t happened before,” Sager said.
And the idea of using cameras that connect to smartphones to let people monitor their homes is catching on—with other device makers. Video cameras from Nest’s Dropcam, Oplink’s sensor systems, and rival device Piper from iControl Networks offer their own options for home security. So it is probably no surprise that Canary is touting some new features in the works as competition increases.
Canary will start premium plans in August, priced at $4.99 per month, which Sager told me will include more video storage and the ability to download video that Canary captures. Currently Canary lets users store video for free in the cloud from incidents captured during the previous 12 hours. That free service will still be available once the premium plans start, Sager said.
The company is also updating its related mobile app with a new algorithm to give users information more quickly, he said. There is also an app for the Apple Watch, which lets users watch video and keep tabs on their homes with similar features to the smartphone version.
The company has grown from its days making the rounds at New York tech events with its early, boxy-looking prototype.
Back in January, Canary started shipping the product and hired Julio Pekarovic, who at one time was a vice president with Google, as its chief operating officer. In March, the company started to sell through retailers such as Amazon and Verizon Wireless. Sager said Canary now has more than 90 employees.
In June, Canary raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Walden Riverwood Ventures. Cota Capital, Khosla Ventures, Flextronics, Two Sigma Ventures, and Western Technology Investment also participated.
Sager said other features and services are being developed for Canary, but it was too early to reveal details.
