NEEO, creator of the NEEO Remote smart home remote, has been acquired by Control4 Corp. in a bid to accelerate its leadership in delivering remotes, touch panels, keypads, and other smart home devices. Introduced in 2016, the NEEO Remote is highly regarded for its ease of setup, interoperability with a wide range of devices, and its striking design.
Going forward, the NEEO product team, based in Bern, Switzerland, will work with the Control4 engineering group in Salt Lake City on the development of the next generation of Control4 remote controls, touchpanels, keypads, and other devices. NEEO company founder Raphael Oberholzer will take a leadership role in the development of Control4’s interaction devices and will report to Charlie Kindel, Control4 senior vice president, products and services.
“Raphael built a world-class customer-centric product team with proven strengths in industrial design, product development, and user experience. We’re keen to add NEEO’s unique expertise and award-winning Swiss design ethic to enhance our plans for reimagining the way homeowners interact with their Control4 systems,” said Martin Plaehn, CEO, Control4. “The NEEO acquisition is a talent and technology investment that will yield beautifully designed and deeply integrated products in the future. We’re excited to welcome the NEEO team to the Control4 family,” he added.
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“From the start, it was obvious that both our companies are passionate for customer-centric design,” said Oberholzer. “By joining the Control4 team, we can execute our shared vision to accelerate the creation of beautiful products consumers want in their smart home.”
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NEEO previously sold its remote to homeowners online but is discontinuing all direct-to-consumer distribution in connection with this transaction.
Control4 will support existing NEEO customers via www.neeo.com and plans to provide an upgrade path to make it easy for users to experience Control4’s array of smart home solutions.