iControl, a leading provider of broadband home management software, said today that it raised $50 million in its fourth round of funding. Investors in the latest round included Cisco Systems, Rogers Communications, Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Charles River Ventures, and Tyco International.
The Palo Alto, Calif., firms sells networking software that telecom and other companies can integrate into their larger home automation and energy management software. Broadband providers can then allow homeowners the option to tie in web-enabled devices into iControl’s OpenHome software.
One of the flagship parts of the software is home energy management. It’s part of a batch of smart-grid technologies — which use advanced algorithms and sensors to distribute electricity more efficiently. The software, running on the security hardware made by companies like General Electric, Honeywell and ADT, manages data received from a network of sensors placed around the home.
Homeowners can tie in electricity meters and thermostats to monitor and manage their energy usage through web-based interfaces like an iPhone or a web browser.
The company raised $15.5 million in another funding round closed in 2008. It raised $43.5 million in three years before its most recent round of funding. Its total funding now amounts to more than $100 million, though the company wouldn’t give an exact number. That’s a substantial figure for a service that has yet to be adopted by mainstream energy consumers, but having the financial backing of some big names in Silicon Valley may help iControl reach its ambitions.
