The founders of Intelligent Point of Sale (IPOS), Robin Knox and Paul Walton, have opened the first funding round for their new venture – Boundary, a smart home alarm.
The founders have self-funded the Edinburgh-based tech startup with £800,000 but are now seeking up to £2.5m investment in a round that will close at the end of June.
“With the market for burglar alarms ripe for disruption, Boundary is preparing to revolutionise the home security market with its affordable and accessible smart home alarm system,” the company said in a statement.
The product is due to launch later this year and is expected to be in 100,000 homes within four years, it added.
The investment will be used to create a number of digital jobs within the firm including roles in cloud infrastructure and mobile app development. A portion of any investment raised will also be channelled towards the continued testing and development of the final product.
Knox said: “We recognise that humans have a deep-rooted instinct to protect their property and possessions, so our mission is to create the leading smart home security alarm that is affordable, accessible and most importantly, brings crime rates down by deterring criminals through the application of technology.”
Boundary will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in May and aims to sell 500 to 1,000 units; worth £100,000 to £200,000 in pre-sales.
“Smaller and more attractive than other alarms on the market, Boundary’s smart intruder alarm will fit effortlessly into the modern home. Owners will not be tied into contracts and will experience a lower cost of ownership than other more traditional systems,” the statement added.
“As well as providing seamless user experience, Boundary’s intruder alarm will offer certified Police response and features, such as geo-fencing and integration with Alexa and Google Home.”
Future plans include a camera that harnesses the power of AI to watch over a property’s boundary. The camera will learn what’s normal and what’s not so it can detect any suspect activity and proactively alert the user before any break-ins take place.
Knox and Walton exited their previous business, Intelligent Point of Sale, which was sold to iZettle and then subsequently acquired by PayPal in 2018 for $2.2bn.