LIFX
 | |
| Founded | not a number value in Cremorne, Victoria, Australia |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cremorne, Victoria, Australia |
| No. of locations | 1 office (2022) |
| Owner | Feit Electric Company |
| Founder(s) | Phil Bosua, John Bosua, Andy Gelme, Guy King, Bevan Clark, Shane Hanna, Marc Alexander, Daniel CM May, Jake Lawton, Andrew Birt |
| Key people | Marc Alexander (former CTO), David Kavanagh (Product Director), Mark Hollands (CTO), Matt Redding (Hardware Director), Rachel Wilson (Brand & Creative director) |
| Industry | Smart Lighting |
| Products | Color 1000, White 800, Color 650, LIFX+, LIFX Z Light Strip, LIFX App |
| Employees | > 20 |
| URL | lifx |
| Native client(s) on | iOS, Android, Windows 10 watchOS, Wear OS |
LIFX (pronounced Life-X) is a line of energy-efficient, multi-color, Wi-Fi enabled, and digital addressable LED light bulbs that can be controlled via a Wi-Fi equipped device such as a smartphone or smartwatch.[1][2][3]
History
LIFX was originally manufactured by LiFi Labs, a San Francisco-based company founded by the Australian inventor Phil Bosua. LiFi Labs introduced the idea of smart lighting on Kickstarter, before any alternative products could be found in market, and have since attracted large attention.[2][4] Consequently, the company managed to raise $1.3 million in public funding,[3] followed by a $12 million series A investment round in mid 2014.[5] LIFX was also one of the first products to participate in the Works with Nest program.[6]
On February 3, 2015, LIFX 2.0 was launched. This included IFTTT integration, remote access and an Android Wear app. In April 2015, LIFX was renamed LIFX Original; two new products were launched at that time, expanding the range to include a tunable white light, the White 800[7] and the Color 650. By May 16, 2015, the LIFX iOS app had added support for the Apple Watch.[8]
On October 1, 2016, the third generation LIFX bulbs shipped, including the flagship 'flat top' bulb reminiscent of the original A19 product, as well as BR30 bulbs, a GU10 track light, a LIFX Downlight, the LIFX+ bulbs (a bulb that added an infrared channel to allow boosted security vision for cameras through glass, down long passages and across longer distances) and the hugely popular LIFX Z light strips.[9]
In September 2017 support was added for Apple HomeKit.[10] In November 2017 the company released the LIFX Mini bulbs, LIFX Beam, a modular set of LED bars that join with magnetic connections, and the LIFX Tiles, another module smart feature light for LED wall displays and ambient lighting. These were an early example of LIFX's polychrome technology going beyond their original use in the light strip, with the Tile using an array of LEDs to create many addressable areas within the one 'light' and enabling new effects and features in the smart lighting space.[11]
LIFX was acquired by ASX listed Buddy Technologies (BUD) in early 2019.
The assets of LIFX were acquired by Feit Electric in August 2022.[12]
References
- ^ On LIFX and $1.3M: Will Crowdsourcing Implode?, CEPro, archived from the original on January 3, 2014, retrieved January 14, 2014
- ^ a b Smartphone-Controlled Light Bulb Raises $260,000 on Kickstarter, Mashable, 17 September 2012, retrieved January 14, 2014
- ^ a b LIFX shipping its bulbs after taking Kickstarter by storm, Business Review Weekly, archived from the original on January 15, 2014, retrieved January 14, 2014
- ^ Could BeeWi Smart Color LEDs be the Hue competitor we've been waiting for?, CNET, retrieved January 14, 2014
- ^ "Maker Of $99 Lightbulbs, LIFX Gets $12M Series A From Sequoia Following Huge Crowdfund Campaign", Forbes, retrieved August 8, 2014
- ^ "LIFX is now part of the Works with Nest program | LIFX Blog". June 24, 2014.
- ^ "LIFX White 800". LIFX. LiFi Labs. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
- ^ "Wearables". LIFX. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
- ^ "Lifx Plus is a color-changing smart bulb that helps your cameras see in the dark". CNET.
- ^ "Hello HomeKit!". LIFX.
- ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2017-09-27). "LIFX's new Wi-Fi-connected wall panels light up in different colors". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
- ^ "Feit Electric Acquires LIFX Assets" (Press release). 3 August 2022.