Boston-based, conference room scheduling software, Robin, has raised $7 million in a Series A round, led by FirstMark Capital. Existing investors — Accomplice, Boldstart, Fundfire, Space Pirates, and Mike Germano too participated in the round. Meanwhile, Partner at FirstMark, Amish Jain joined the board of directors.
The funding will help Robin continue product development and expand its spread. It might also allow the startup, a small scale hiring too.
Robin runs on off-the-shelf iOS via web and Android devices. It uses iBeacon and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices to detect nearby people and things. Users don’t necessarily have to sign in to meetings but rather just show up. Automated response units book conference rooms for users or clients even when they just walk into the room and Robin updates the screens in the room for nearby devices to give them the control they need. Rooms report their equipment availability and capacity that helps an user, make an informed choice.
It automatically combines calendar events, presence, and other office data to give insights about how a team and space work together.
Founded by twins Sam Dunn and Zach Dunn, Robin had earlier raised $2.9M in seed round funding, from investors like Accomplice, Deep Fork, Boldstart, Konica Minolta and Autodesk. Today, it claims to have spread its arena to companies like DraftKings, Netflix, Sonos and Blue Apron.
Expressing his excitement on the latest funding, Sam Dunn, said, “The office will be smart. It will be a thoughtful concierge, helping to enable the workers that show up everyday with as little friction as possible. We’ve got the roster, the “can do” attitude, and the fuel we need to help make a dent in the workday and we intend to make it happen.”
How does it work?
The app works in tandem with bluetooth enabled-beacons placed inside the conference room, and automatically checks-in users into meetings. One beacon covers a zone of up to 30 meters. An accompanying dashboard provides an office-wide overview and analytics for the app-powered room. It can be customized to run Chromecast, smart thermostats and, lights.
Robin can be integrated with Slack and Aruba Meridian to provide easy room booking and indoor maps with turn-by-turn navigation.