Why We Invested in Nami

The landscape of smart building technology is evolving rapidly, yet traditional sensing technologies are limited in range, granularity, reliability, and privacy compliance. These traditional Internet of Things (IoT) and line-of-sight devices also often depend on voice commands, manual inputs and a lot of plastic, wires and control panels to be installed, leading to high costs, inefficiencies and accessibility challenges, especially for vulnerable populations. The pressing need for more intelligent, plug-and-play and automated solutions in home and building management is evident.

💥 Enter nami, a pioneering platform that offers intelligent sensing solutions designed to revolutionize smart homes and buildings. By leveraging advanced Wi-Fi sensing technology, nami provides a seamless, automated approach to home security, safety, energy efficiency, care & wellness.

What is Wi-Fi Sensing?

Imagine a pool of water. When you throw a stone into the pool, ripples spread across the surface. Now, picture multiple stones being tossed in at different spots—each creating waves that interact and overlap. Wi-Fi sensing works in a similar way: your home or office is the pool, and Wi-Fi signals act as the waves. When a person moves through the space, they disrupt these invisible waves, creating patterns that can be detected and analysed. By interpreting these disruptions, Wi-Fi sensing technology can determine presence, movement, and even activity levels—all without the need for cameras or wearable devices. This makes it a powerful and privacy-friendly way to enable smart automation and security solutions.

Overcoming the Limitations of Traditional IoT Devices

Conventional IoT sensors—such as motion detectors, cameras, and wearables—come with significant drawbacks. They require specific setup hardware, have limited range, often struggle with false positives (triggered by pets or shadows), and frequently rely on line-of-sight to function properly. These inefficiencies make traditional sensing costly, complex to install, and sometimes unreliable.

nami’s Wi-Fi sensing technology eliminates these barriers by turning existing Wi-Fi-enabled devices into intelligent sensors. This approach is both cheaper and simpler than installing additional hardware, works through walls and furniture, and requires limited additional setup beyond software integration and plugging in nami sensing plugs and beacons. It also reduces false alarms by distinguishing between human movement and background activity, such as pets or robotic vacuum cleaners. With seamless scalability and no reliance on dedicated motion sensors, Wi-Fi sensing redefines smart automation—offering superior accuracy, privacy, and ease of use.

Fusion Sensing helps Address the Critical Challenges in Modern Living

Today's homes face numerous challenges:

• Security Threats: In the U.S., a home burglary occurs every 30 seconds, resulting in $3 billion in annual losses. Homes without security systems are 300% more likely to be targeted. While traditional security systems rely on cameras or motion detectors that have blind spots, nami enables non-intrusive motion detection, improving home security without the need for invasive surveillance. It can also be activated automatically if no motion or presence is detected, avoiding the risk of forgetting to activate the alarm (which happens for >30% of intrusion cases with traditional alarm system owners).
• Energy Efficiency: Globally, $1 trillion is spent annually on energy for residential and commercial buildings. nami enables smart energy management by detecting presence and automating HVAC and lighting systems to reduce unnecessary consumption.
• Health & Well-being: By 2030, one-sixth of the global population will be aged 60 or older. Each year, over 3 million older adults experience falls, leading to serious injuries and costing for instance the U.S. healthcare system $50 billion. Many homes are not equipped to support elderly people living independently. nami provides a passive, AI-driven solution that contribute to detect anomalous situations such as falls in bathroom, tracks sleep and movement patterns, and even monitors subtle changes in behaviour to help to flag risks of emerging pathologies like Alzheimer—all without requiring cameras or wearables. This allows family members and healthcare providers to ensure safety and well-being while fully respecting privacy.

Why We Invested in Nami

At AMAVI, we recognize nami as more than just a technological innovation; it's a transformative approach to smart living. The key aspects that enable this are:

1. Hardware-Agnostic Platform
   nami’s software-first approach means it does not compete with IoT device manufacturers but instead enhances their products, creating a win-win ecosystem with sharing revenue model. With over 70 + patents, nami platform leverages AI to detect human presence, learn behavioural patterns, optimize energy use, and orchestrate Matter protocol devices seamlessly.
    

2. B2B2C and B2B2B
   nami chose to sell its disruptive solutions through industry leaders like Alarm.com in Security, C+C Okiden in Care, Verizon or Deutsche Telekom in telecommunication. They provide access to an extensive customer base without the high cost of direct-to-consumer distribution.

   Unlike traditional smart home brands that require consumers to buy dedicated gateways + additional sensors, nami enables partners to turn their customers’ Wi-Fi routers, set-top boxes, or cameras into motion-sensing beacon with a simple software update linked with easy setup nami SensePlugs or pods.
    

3. World-class Founders
   Jean-Eudes and Jérôme bring deep expertise and a proven track record from their success as entrepreneurs. Their latest venture WiZ is the second largest smart lighting solution and was acquired by Signify (formerly Philips Lighting). Their extensive network within multinational corporations provides a strategic advantage in securing enterprise partnerships. For example, Jerome is co-chair of Matter Ambient sensing workgroup, a new connectivity standard for smart home devices and systems, launched by a.o. Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung and the Connectivity Standard Alliance.

We invested in nami in 2023 as co-lead investor along Verizon Ventures. Through this investment, we are supporting a platform that not only enhances the quality of life for individuals but also offers scalable solutions across various industries, including PropTech, HealthTech, and IoT.

We are proud to partner with nami in driving the future of intelligent sensing, creating safer, healthier, and more energy-efficient homes and buildings.