A property monitoring company from Sweden — Minut — which uses a camera-less sensor to analyse guest’s noise, just announced that it has closed $14 million in a Series B funding round. With this, the overall investment secured by the company since its debut is $25 million.
Oversubscribed funding round
The oversubscribed investment round was led by Almaz Capital along with participation from Zenith, Kompas, Verve Ventures, Swiss Immo Lab. Also, previous investors Karma Ventures, SOSV’s HAX and KPN Ventures participated in the round.
Minut will use the new investment to grow even faster, accelerating its pace of innovation in property tech and services for the entire travel industry. Also, it will focus on global expansion.
The IoT startup has its operation across 100 countries and offices in the US, UK, Sweden, France and Spain. The company keeps expanding and innovating and has just launched a security dispatch service in the UK and added new integrations with various property management solutions.
Nils Mattisson, co-founder and CEO of Minut, said: “Minut offers unique technology that provides hosts and managers with priceless insight from inside the accommodation, without sacrificing guest privacy. Our data goes beyond noise and it’s something the whole industry can benefit from. We’re proud to support sustainable growth of STR and we’ll continue doing so. At the same time, you can expect to see Minut sensors in a wider array of accommodations in the future.”
Sebastian Peck, Partner at KOMPAS said: “The short-term rental market has proven to be remarkably resilient during the pandemic, and is poised for continuous growth. Minut’s brilliant team led by CEO Nils Mattison is extremely well-positioned to capture this opportunity and create a category leader.”
Smart home monitoring solutions!
Minut was founded in 2014 by Nils Mattisson in Malmö, Sweden. It developed a camera-less smart home security device, which is touted to be better than its rivals in terms of protecting the privacy of users.
The company has built a compelling platform for owners of short-term rentals that protects guest privacy while allowing them to be good neighbours, prevent noise and comply with city ordinances. It helps property managers make sure that the guests have a wonderful stay. In a study across multiple European and US cities, Minut was shown to reduce neighbourhood complaints by as much as 90%.
It is possible as the Minut sensor monitors noise, occupancy, motion and temperature in vacation rental properties. The company sees itself in the role of a co-host, thereby supporting hosts in preventing parties, enhancing guest experience and protecting their homes. Its platform also supports managers of larger property portfolios with workflow automation, making them more efficient when managing their properties remotely.
Minut has pioneered and patented its approach of sound analysis on the edge of the network. With machine learning and AI and on-device computing capabilities, the Minut sensor can analyse the sound volume and events without streaming audio recordings to the cloud. This way, it provides accurate and timely data while respecting the privacy of guests.
Partnerships in rental industry
The company has established partnerships with multiple players in the rental industry, including Airbnb and Kasa Living who now recommends the solution to hosts.
Vladimir Beroun, Senior Public Policy Manager at Airbnb, commented: “Airbnb is actively promoting responsible and sustainable tourism. Minut’s solution supports Hosts on Airbnb in their efforts to promote trust and safety in their homes and in communities”.
Yvette Romero, Director of Strategic Product Initiatives at Kasa, commemted: “Minut has played a vital role in helping us deliver an automated tech-enabled hospitality experience.”
