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Latch to rebrand as Door.com next year as new ‘James’ app rolls out

Craig C. Rowe; Canva

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Latch, a smart lock company that provides landlords and property managers with building access, monitoring and management solutions, has rebranded as Door.com, the company announced Tuesday.

Three months after Ring founder Jamie Siminoff took the reins as CEO, Latch will now be reborn as Door.com, in part to leverage the potential of Honest Day’s Work, a residential services marketplace Latch acquired in May. Siminoff, who sold Ring to Amazon in 2021 for $1 billion, said his work over the past decade has led him to focus his energy on the power of the front door, a concept the new branding leans into.

“The door is where the Honest Day’s Worker meets their customer and where Latch products and services provide best-in-class access control solutions,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “We’re here to invent and build, and we won’t stop until we deliver a platform that improves the lives of every service provider and building operator.”

The Latch name will maintain its place for the near future, according to the release, handling the “core access control business,” until 2024, when the formal rebrand takes hold. New offerings under the Door.com umbrella will roll out next year to “create a platform that superpowers the proud service providers that make the world go round,“ the company stated.

Latch raised $70 million in a Series B round in 2018, led by Brookfield Ventures. A year later, it raised $126 million more in a continuation of that round.

The company initially focused on smart-lock products. It has since expanded significantly, largely into enterprise, introducing Lidar-based room monitoring systems, a full-featured mobile app with automated concierge services and multi-building per-room environmental controls, as well as new locks and individual access permissions.

The company is releasing what it describes as its first services vertical, a mobile app called “James” that will support drivers under the Honest Day’s Work brand, which include apartment property service providers, such as repair specialists, cleaners, dog walkers and other home care professionals.

The app will allow drivers to seamlessly book clients and manage their businesses, and riders can connect directly with drivers whom they know and trust, according to the company. Drives will be able to handle the business and financial aspects of their operation, as well.

Latch partnered with software company AppFolio earlier this year to blend its products with automated property management services.

AppFolio’s software supports all forms of rented property, from mother-in-law units to single family rentals to institutional landlords. Its features include in-depth financial reporting, leasing agent training, community operations, marketing, tenant communications and all other operational demands of handling leased real estate. It offers web and mobile applications.

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