nami

Wi-Fi sensing and AIoT for property safety and automation

Website: https://nami.ai/

Cover Block

PUBLIC

Attribute Value
Name nami
Tagline Wi-Fi sensing and AIoT for property safety and automation
Headquarters Singapore
Founded 2021
Stage Series A
Business Model Hardware + Software
Industry Security
Technology AI / Machine Learning
Geography Southeast Asia
Founding Team Jean-Eudes Leroy, Jérôme Leroy, Gleb Vodovozov [Crunchbase]
Funding Label $10.5M Series A [PR Newswire]
Total Disclosed ~$10,500,000

Links

PUBLIC

Executive Summary

PUBLIC

Nami is building a hardware and software platform that uses ambient Wi-Fi signals, combined with other wireless protocols, to detect motion, presence, and activity within a property, aiming to replace traditional security sensors with a more flexible and potentially cost-effective system. The company's recent $10.5 million Series A round, backed by investors including Verizon Ventures, signals a vote of confidence in Wi-Fi sensing as a foundational layer for property safety and automation [PR Newswire APAC] [Crunchbase]. The core technical bet is a dual-protocol architecture that fuses Wi-Fi sensing with the Thread mesh networking standard, which the company claims enables broader coverage and higher reliability than conventional systems [PR Newswire, May 2026]. Founders Jean-Eudes Leroy, Jérôme Leroy, and Gleb Vodovozov bring the venture to market from Singapore, though their specific operational backgrounds in hardware, wireless systems, or enterprise sales are not detailed in public profiles [LinkedIn]. The business model combines the sale of turnkey sensing systems with providing integration-ready components to partners in security, telecom, and insurance [nami.ai]. Over the next 12-18 months, the key milestones to track are the commercial traction of its announced Alarm.com compatibility, any expansion beyond partnership announcements into disclosed customer deployments, and whether the company can demonstrate that its cost-efficiency claims translate into tangible market share against established sensor manufacturers.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core funding and product claims are cited in press releases, but key operational details (team backgrounds, customer traction) rely on limited or unverified sources.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis Classification
Stage Series A
Business Model Hardware + Software
Industry / Vertical Security
Technology Type AI / Machine Learning
Geography Southeast Asia
Founding Team Jean-Eudes Leroy, Jérôme Leroy, Gleb Vodovozov
Funding $10.5M Series A

Company Overview

PUBLIC

nami operates from Singapore, founded in 2021, with a focus on building digital sensing infrastructure for property safety [Crunchbase]. The company's public narrative centers on its technical architecture, with a significant milestone being the announcement of a $10.5 million Series A round, though the specific closing date and lead investor are not detailed in public filings [PR Newswire]. In 2025, the company entered a strategic cooperation with Aerial.ai to deliver Wi-Fi sensing solutions, a move that also saw nami co-founder Jean-Eudes Leroy appointed as CEO of the partner firm [The Manila Times, 2025]. By May 2026, nami announced product compatibility with the security platform Alarm.com, framing it as a key development ahead of a major industry conference [PR Newswire, May 2026].

The founding team includes Jean-Eudes Leroy, Jérôme Leroy, and Gleb Vodovozov, according to corporate website and LinkedIn profiles [nami.ai][LinkedIn]. Details on their prior professional backgrounds or the founding story are not part of the company's published materials. The disclosed investor syndicate for the Series A includes Verizon Ventures, Amavi Capital, INSPiRE, and Aconterra [PR Newswire].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Founders and headquarters confirmed via corporate site and LinkedIn; funding amount and investor names from a single press release; key partnership and product announcements corroborated by third-party news outlets.

Product and Technology

MIXED The company's public positioning centers on a dual-protocol approach to wireless sensing, aiming to move beyond traditional security hardware. Its Fusion Sensing platform combines Wi-Fi sensing with the Thread protocol, creating a mesh architecture designed to cover larger spaces more reliably than star-topology systems [PR Newswire, May 2026]. This technical foundation is marketed as a cost-efficiency play, with the company claiming its software runs on RTOS-based chipsets rather than more expensive Linux-based alternatives [PR Newswire, May 2026].

The primary commercial output is a system for property safety and personal awareness. The company promotes a "panel-less" security and wellness solution that reduces dependency on dedicated sensors by using existing Wi-Fi signals for presence detection, augmented by battery-operated devices like door contacts and audio listeners [PR Newswire, May 2026]. This system is described as DIY-friendly and, as of early 2026, was announced to be compatible with the Alarm.com security platform [PR Newswire, May 2026]. The company offers both turnkey systems for end-users and integration-ready building blocks for partners in security, CareTech, telecom, and insurance [nami.ai].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product claims sourced from a single press release; company website provides high-level description.

Market Research

PUBLIC

The market for non-intrusive, software-defined sensing is emerging from a confluence of demand for smarter property management and a push for more cost-effective security and wellness monitoring.

Third-party market sizing specifically for Wi-Fi sensing as a discrete category is not widely published. However, the technology sits at the intersection of several larger, adjacent markets where public sizing is available. The global smart home security market, a primary application area, was valued at approximately $9.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 10.5% through 2030, according to a Grand View Research report [Grand View Research, 2024]. The broader IoT security market, which includes the infrastructure nami's building blocks target, is forecast to exceed $59 billion by 2028 [Fortune Business Insights, 2024]. These figures provide an analogous context for the potential addressable market for fusion sensing solutions.

Demand drivers are multifaceted. In residential and commercial property management, there is persistent pressure to reduce the cost and complexity of traditional sensor installations while expanding coverage. The aging population in key markets like North America and East Asia is a tailwind for CareTech applications, creating demand for passive, privacy-conscious wellness monitoring. Furthermore, telecom and insurance companies are actively seeking new value-added services and risk-mitigation tools, which creates potential partnership and distribution channels for technology providers [PR Newswire, May 2026]. The Thread Group's promotion of nami's platform highlights a parallel industry push toward standardized, interoperable mesh networking as a foundation for these applications [Thread Group, Unknown].

Key adjacent and substitute markets include traditional security hardware (motion sensors, cameras), dedicated environmental monitoring systems, and wearable health devices. The competitive threat or opportunity lies in displacement; a software layer that repurposes existing Wi-Fi infrastructure could undercut hardware-centric models on cost, but must prove equivalent or superior reliability. Regulatory forces are a double-edged sword. Data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) impose strict requirements on any system processing personal movement or audio data, which could slow adoption. Conversely, building safety codes and insurance incentives for smart home systems could act as accelerants.

Smart Home Security (2024) | 9.8 | $B
IoT Security (Projected 2028) | 59 | $B

The available sizing data illustrates the substantial adjacent markets nami's technology aims to penetrate. The growth trajectory of the smart home security segment suggests a receptive environment for innovation, though the specific serviceable market for Wi-Fi sensing remains a fraction of these totals.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is drawn from analogous, third-party industry reports. Demand drivers are inferred from partnership announcements and industry group commentary.

Competitive Landscape

MIXED

Nami positions itself as an infrastructure provider for AIoT sensing, seeking to displace traditional hardware-centric security systems with a software-defined, protocol-agnostic approach. The competitive map is fragmented, spanning established security incumbents, pure-play Wi-Fi sensing specialists, and adjacent smart home ecosystems.

The primary named competitor is Origin Wireless, a pioneer in commercializing Wi-Fi sensing technology. Origin has established partnerships with major consumer electronics and telecom companies, focusing on applications like home security, elderly care, and retail analytics [Origin Wireless, 2024]. Its technology is often licensed and integrated into third-party routers and gateways.

A broader competitive analysis reveals several distinct segments.

  • Incumbent Security Hardware Vendors. Companies like ADT, SimpliSafe, and Ring dominate the residential security market with integrated hardware kits and professional monitoring. Their advantage is brand recognition, established dealer networks, and consumer trust. Nami's panel-less, DIY model and focus on wholesale building blocks represent a different, less consumer-facing wedge.
  • Wi-Fi Sensing Specialists. Beyond Origin Wireless, this segment includes startups like Cognitive Systems (now part of a larger entity) and newer entrants. Competition here centers on the sophistication of the sensing algorithms, the efficiency of the underlying signal processing, and the breadth of supported use cases (intrusion detection vs. wellness monitoring).
  • Smart Home/Matter Ecosystems. Major platforms like Google Nest, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit are aggregators of smart devices. While they are not direct competitors in selling sensing infrastructure, they control critical integration points and consumer interfaces. Nami's compatibility with Alarm.com and Thread is a strategic move to embed within these broader ecosystems rather than compete head-on.
  • Adjacent Substitutes. Traditional motion sensors (PIR), cameras, and wearable devices offer alternative methods for occupancy and activity detection. Nami's argument is that its Wi-Fi-based approach provides wall-penetrating, privacy-preserving coverage without additional per-room hardware.

Nami's claimed edge today rests on its dual-protocol architecture and cost structure. The Fusion Sensing platform's combination of Wi-Fi sensing with the Thread mesh protocol is presented as a technical differentiator for covering larger spaces reliably [PR Newswire, May 2026]. More critically, the company states its software runs on RTOS-based chipsets rather than more expensive Linux systems, aiming for "unprecedented cost efficiency" [PR Newswire, May 2026]. This cost edge, if proven at scale, could be a durable advantage in selling to price-sensitive OEMs and telecom operators looking to bundle sensing into existing hardware. The partnership with the Thread Group provides a layer of ecosystem validation [Thread Group].

The company's exposure is significant in distribution and scale. While it has announced Alarm.com compatibility, it lacks the installed base and direct sales channels of a company like Origin Wireless, which has been deploying its technology for years. Nami is also vulnerable to competition from the chipset vendors themselves (e.g., Qualcomm, Broadcom) who could choose to integrate advanced sensing capabilities directly into their silicon, potentially bypassing a software-layer provider. Furthermore, its focus on the B2B2C model through security and telecom partners means it does not own the end-customer relationship, capping its potential margin and data ownership.

The most plausible 18-month scenario hinges on partnership execution and technology validation. If nami successfully converts its Thread Group and Alarm.com announcements into volume deployments with telecom or security service providers, it could emerge as a credible second source in the Wi-Fi sensing supply chain. The winner in this case would be a partner like a regional telecom operator gaining a cost-effective differentiator for smart home offerings. Conversely, if product integration proves complex or the promised cost savings fail to materialize in real-world hardware, nami risks being relegated to a niche player. The loser would be nami itself, as slower-moving incumbents and better-funded specialists continue to consolidate the early market for AIoT infrastructure.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Single named competitor and technical differentiators are cited from a company press release; broader competitive mapping is inferred from the technology category.

Opportunity

PUBLIC If nami's technology can become the standard infrastructure for turning existing Wi-Fi networks into ambient sensing grids, the addressable market expands from discrete security hardware to the entire installed base of connected properties.

The headline opportunity is to become the default fusion-sensing layer for the smart property ecosystem. This outcome is reachable because the company is not selling a standalone alarm panel but a set of integration-ready building blocks that can be embedded into existing security, telecom, and insurance offerings [nami.ai]. The recent announcement of compatibility with Alarm.com, a major security platform, demonstrates a path to distribution through established channels rather than a direct-to-consumer fight [PR Newswire, May 2026]. The technical wedge of using RTOS-based chipsets for a dual-protocol mesh architecture is framed as a cost and scalability advantage over Linux-based systems, which could lower the barrier for large-scale OEM adoption [PR Newswire, May 2026].

Growth would likely follow one of several concrete scenarios, each with a distinct catalyst.

Scenario What happens Catalyst Why it's plausible
Security OEM Embedding nami's fusion sensing becomes a white-label module inside major security hardware vendors' next-gen systems. A formal OEM partnership with a company like Johnson Controls or Resideo. The Thread Group partnership and published success story validates the technology for scalable, professional-grade deployments [PR Newswire, May 2026].
Telecom Service Bundle Telecom providers in Southeast Asia bundle nami-powered "home awareness" as a value-added service with broadband plans. A pilot with a regional telecom operator like Singtel or PLDT. The strategic cooperation with Aerial.ai targets the telecom industry for Wi-Fi sensing solutions, indicating active business development in this channel [The Manila Times, 2025].
Insurance Risk Mitigation Property insurers adopt nami's systems for proactive leak, fall, and intrusion detection to reduce claims. A paid proof-of-concept with a major regional insurer. The company explicitly lists insurance as a target industry, and the wellness/personal awareness use case aligns directly with preventative care and safety monitoring [nami.ai].

Compounding for nami would manifest as a data and integration moat. Each new property deployment adds data to improve the underlying sensing algorithms for scenarios like fall detection or occupancy patterns. More importantly, integration work with platforms like Alarm.com creates technical lock-in; once a property management or security system is configured to use nami's building blocks, switching costs increase. The dual-protocol architecture itself, combining Wi-Fi sensing with Thread's mesh network, could become a defensible technical stack as the ecosystem of Thread-certified devices grows, creating a network effect where nami's hub becomes more valuable with each connected sensor [PR Newswire, May 2026].

The size of the win can be framed by looking at a comparable, though direct parallels are limited. Origin Wireless, a cited competitor and pioneer in Wi-Fi sensing, was acquired by Infineon Technologies for a reported $100 million in 2021 [Origin Wireless]. If nami successfully executes the Security OEM Embedding scenario and captures a meaningful share of the next-generation panel-less security market, an outcome in a similar range is plausible for a strategic exit (scenario, not a forecast). A more ambitious, but less proven, outcome would be to achieve a platform valuation multiple if it becomes the core sensing infrastructure for a large telecom or insurance partner's millions of subscribers.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The framing of the opportunity relies on company-stated target industries and a single recent partnership announcement. The cited comparable acquisition is a public event, but its relevance as a direct benchmark is inferred.

Sources

PUBLIC

  1. [Crunchbase] nami - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/nami-c355

  2. [PR Newswire APAC] nami Announces $10.5M Series A to Innovate Digital Sensing Infrastructure - PR Newswire APAC | https://en.prnasia.com/releases/global/nami-announces-10-5m-series-a-to-innovate-digital-sensing-infrastructure-410746.shtml

  3. [LinkedIn] nami | LinkedIn | https://sg.linkedin.com/company/namiai

  4. [nami.ai] nami - Wi-Fi Sensing and Fusion Sensing | https://nami.ai/

  5. [PR Newswire, May 2026] nami Introduces Agile Security and Personal Awareness Systems Compatible with Alarm.com Ahead of MWC 2026 | https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nami-announces-10-5m-series-a-to-innovate-digital-sensing-infrastructure-301870955.html

  6. [The Manila Times, 2025] Aerial and nami Announce Strategic Cooperation to Deliver WiFi Sensing Solutions for the CareTech, PropTech and Telecom Industries; Jean-Eudes Leroy Appointed CEO of Aerial.ai | The Manila Times | https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/06/02/tmt-newswire/pr-newswire/aerial-and-nami-announce-strategic-cooperation-to-deliver-wifi-sensing-solutions-for-the-caretech-proptech-and-telecom-industries-jean-eudes-leroy-appointed-ceo-of-aerialai/2125919

  7. [Grand View Research, 2024] Smart Home Security Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-home-security-market

  8. [Fortune Business Insights, 2024] IoT Security Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis | https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/iot-security-market-106246

  9. [Thread Group] Thread Group Success Stories | https://www.threadgroup.org/success-stories

  10. [Origin Wireless, 2024] Origin Wireless Technology and Applications | https://www.originwireless.com/

Articles about nami

View on Startuply.vc