Allegion Ventures invests in AI-focused VergeSense

CARMEL, Ind.—Allegion Ventures, a $50 million corporate venture fund of Allegion plc, recently led a strategic investment in VergeSense, an AI-powered sensor provider for the workplace. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

This is Allegion Ventures’ first investment in VergeSense and part of a larger $9-million strategic funding round for the portfolio company. VergeSense plans to use the investment to meet increased customer demand and scale its analytics software platform. Allegion Ventures President Rob Martens said its strategic investment in VergeSense was made after a comprehensive review of technologies making an impact in the commercial real estate market.

“The talented team of entrepreneurs at VergeSense is currently proving just how nimble they can be and how valuable and adaptable their technology is,” Martens said in the announcement. “In the midst of a world crisis, they have quickly positioned themselves to help senior business leaders ensure safer workspaces through social distancing, while at the same time still driving productivity, engagement and cost efficiency. VergeSense is on the leading edge of creating data-driven workspaces when it matters most to the global business community and their employees.”

VergeSense employs computer vision technology through cost-effective sensors that can be installed in minutes. Its platform can provide actionable insights and AI-powered recommendations to building managers or tenants through an easy-to-use dashboard. The more data the sensor-as-a-system collects, the smarter it gets, and the better it can help power agile workplace design, enhance employee experience, optimize real estate portfolio investments, facilitate smart cleaning and, now, aid in social distancing compliance.

“Today, as companies respond to COVID-19, they’re turning to VergeSense to solve their most significant problem �“ getting employees back into the workplace safely,” VergeSense CEO and Co-Founder Dan Ryan said in the annoucement. “We’re excited to have Allegion Ventures join our existing investors in this strategic round to help us meet the growing demand for our mission-critical solution.”

VergeSense joins Openpath, Pindrop, Robin Powered and HqO in the Allegion Ventures portfolio of companies that are poised for growth. As an investor, Allegion Ventures can help VergeSense to grow through added expertise in new markets, partnering opportunities, as well as through new technology use cases like detection of “tailgating” events or unauthorized building entry.