ADT on Tuesday announced a partnership with Life360, a provider of location-based services and family networking technology. ADT said that the partnership will provide a valuable lead generation source for the company and enable the development of innovative, co-branded mobile security applications to provide greater safety and security services to families.
As part of the agreement, ADT is taking a minority ownership stake in the company through a $25 million investment, leading a $50 million Series C financing for Life360.
“We’ve expanded beyond helping protect and connect homes and businesses,” said Arthur Orduña, senior vice president and chief innovation officer for ADT. “Today, ADT provides security and monitoring solutions for families wherever they are. This partnership with Life360 fits within our innovation strategy to reinvent the idea of ‘security’ for our increasingly mobile lifestyles. It’s a perfect pairing as ADT and Life360 are both leaders in their categories that share a very similar vision and mission – to provide peace of mind to families.”
One planned development from the partnership is a new mobile application that will integrate features from ADT Chaperone, an existing ‘on-the-go’ personal security offering from ADT. The upcoming mobile application from ADT and Life360 will provide direct access to ADT’s 24/7 monitoring centers that can connect users to police, fire and emergency medical responders. “Soon every family will be able to use the app to meet their unique needs, whether it’s providing a chaperone for a child walking home from school and verifying they reached their destination, or knowing to arm the home’s security system when the house is vacant,” added Orduña.
By leveraging technologies from both companies, users can check in on their families with the touch of a button, rather than having to make a call, or take a break to contact their loved ones. Users will not only have greater peace of mind while on the go, but also gain the added convenience of home automation, including control of lights, door locks and more, directly from their mobile phone.
“The investment and partnership with ADT further cements Life360’s position as the leading family network, and allows us to deepen our reach into the connected home,” said Chris Hulls, Life360 founder and chief executive officer. “Mobile is at the center of the connected home, and given security is a critical element for today’s families, our integration with ADT offers customers the value of one of the world’s largest security and home automation providers, plus the connectivity of the largest family network.”
The new co-developed mobile application will be available in late 2014. The app will be free, and upgraded security features from ADT will be available at a nominal monthly subscription fee.
