Smart Home Platform
Kakao Ventures announced on March 26 that the company invested 1.5 billion won (US$in internet of things (IoT) smart home device and platform company Brunt jointly with Naver. This marked the first joint investment between the two companies.
Brunt is a developer of smart home software (SW) and hardware (HW) focused on user experiences. In addition to SW such as mobile apps and operating servers, Brunt is building its own technology and service network centered on IoT technology. Brunt is headed up by Nam Chan-woo, CEO of Brunt, who had been charge of user experience and design at Naver and Hyundai Card.
"Brunt is a product based not only on technology, but on design and usability and can provide new experiences for users. This fact make Brunt different from others," said Lee Jeong-an, leader of investment and development at Naver.
"In the smart home market, consumers are still limited in choosing a variety of products in terms of prices and design," said Kim Ki-jun, partner of Kooko Ventures who orchestrated the investment project. “We decided to make investment in Brunt as we judged that the strategy of Brunt that preemptively caught such needs will take the initiative in the future of the smart home market.”