WigWag hit a nerve with consumers last year when it launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for a device to connect and control everything in the home from lights to temperature to soil moisture for watering plants.
The Austin-based startup ended up blowing way past it goal and raising more than $454,000 from 1,694 backers. The company expects to begin shipping products over the next few months, said Ed Hemphill, CEO and co-founder.
“Kickstarter helped prove there was a demand for what we’re creating,” Hemphill said. “We learned a ton from Kickstarter. And the product we’re going to deliver is an even better product.”
And on Wednesday, WigWag announced it has begun taking pre-orders on Amazon for Filament by WigWag, a smart, dimmable and full-color LED light bulb.
The company’s light bulb sets are controlled using a smartphone app with either an iOS or Android mobile phone or by a classic wall switch. The WigWag Relay, which plugs in an Internet router, provides the gateway to the Internet to control the lights and other devices to create a smart home. The starter sets with WigWag Relay and four, eight or 12 bulbs cost $99, $199, $299 and $399 respectively. The company plans to deliver the products in the fall.
WigWag’s Relay device works with all kinds of devices in the home including Belkin WeMo, Sonos, Nest, Philips Hue and more. It also works with different adapters such as ZigBee, Bluetooth and Z-Wave.
“We take different devices and protocols and glue them together,” Hemphill said.
WigWag, founded in 2012, has raised $650,000 to date, according to papers filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has 12 employees, including four in China.
For more on the company, please read this Q&A from a year ago with Hemphill and Silicon Hills News.
