Smart lighting company Nanoleaf has been acquired by Switchbot’s parent company OneRobotics. In an exclusive interview with The VergeNanoleaf CEO Jimmy Chu says the company will remain independent and that he and his co-founder and COO Christian Yan will continue to run it. “Functionally nothing is changing,” says Chu, adding that there are plans for product integration between the two smart home companies.
The sale, which Chu described as “more of a merger”, will provide significant resources to Nanoleaf, including a cash investment that will, among other things, help the company grow its team at its Toronto headquarters. It will also access the manufacturing facilities and supply chain of the Chinese company, which has a market cap of more than $2 billion. “This will allow us to make things on a larger scale, have greater purchasing power to reduce costs for our customers, and have tighter control over the supply chain and quality control,” Chu says.
Chu was reluctant to go into financial details, preferring to point to public filings. These show that OneRobotics is paying about $40 million over two years to acquire Nanoleaf outright, and that Nanoleaf has annual revenues of about $30 million, but it has been making net losses for the past two years.
“We’re similar size and scale with different strengths and a lot of synergy. We’re both badass warriors.”
Chu says the decision to sell was not driven by financial necessity but to help the company grow. “We weren’t in a position where we had to do that. If it didn’t feel right I probably wouldn’t have done it,” adding that the two companies have had a good relationship for many years. “And it does; it feels like a great partnership.”
Despite being around for more than a decade, Nanoleaf remains a relatively small company that has struggled to keep pace with larger competitors like Philips Hue and Govi in recent years. “We have accomplished a lot; our lighting panels have introduced a whole new category,” says Chu. “But as a small team we didn’t have a lot of resources, and we always had more ideas than we could handle and the challenge was how to execute them.” An example of this is that it took the company almost eight years to bring a light switch to market. Chu says that with OneRobotics he will have the resources to bring those ideas to life.
Those ideas aren’t just around smart lighting; Nanoleaf is expanding its new LED-based wellness product line along with embedded AI and robotics. Switchbot is also expanding into AI and robotics, launching its first humanoid home robot, the Onero H1, at CES this year, following the launch of an AI-powered tennis robot and a companion robot. This is in addition to the more traditional smart home products produced by the company, although, in particular, one area where it has little presence is smart lighting.
According to the filing, OneRobotics sees the acquisition as an important step in its “strategy to build a global domestic AI ecosystem.” This is a version of that phrase we’re starting to hear from several smart home companies — most recently DreamEye.
The acquisition will also help Switchbot expand into brick-and-mortar retail in North America and Europe, where Nanoleaf has partnered with Apple and big-box stores like Costco, Best Buy and The Home Depot.
in a statement to The VergeSwitchbot confirmed that the brands will remain separate and said that with the partnership, “We are building a stronger technological and product foundation to develop future innovations that make the home more responsive, adaptive, and easier to use… Our shared goal is to create a more integrated intelligent home ecosystem with seamless interoperability, where robots, devices, and ambient experiences work together naturally.”
Chu says OneRobotics values Nanoleaf for its creativity, product development and technology. “We were the first movers in matter and thread. They can benefit from all the difficulties we went through there.” He also says that the companies’ cultures are similar. “We’re similar size and scale with different strengths and a lot of synergy. We’re both badass warriors.”
After covering Switchbot and Nanoleaf for several years, I can see some synergy in them. Both have built reputations for innovation in an industry dominated by fast followers, but they have excelled in different areas.
Switchbot’s strength lies in practical problem-solving, from its basic robotic finger that pushes switches (hence the name Switchbot) to its range of smart home devices, including locks, sensors, shades, robot vacuums, and more. In contrast, Nanoleaf has built its brand around ambitious ideas and experiential products, from modular LED lighting panels to screen mirroring and music sync — even an AI-powered lighting system (before they were cool). Nanoleaf also has expertise in connectivity standards and smart home ecosystems – areas where Switchbot has lagged behind.
Chu’s positive description of the deal seems optimistic – few acquisitions happen without a deal. But if OneRobotics does indeed allow the company to operate independently while still getting the resources to execute its plans, there’s a path for both Switchbot and Nanoleaf to become stronger at a time when commoditization is creating challenges for smaller smart home companies.
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