Tony Fadell designed the hardware for the iPod and he was the head of the iPod and iPhone division before he left his VP post to spend more time with his wife and kids. His family spent a year in Paris and then moved back to the U.S. While in Paris, Fadell decided what he wanted to do next: build a new high-tech thermostat.

GreenRoad has a device that starts each day with a green light. If the driver swerves a lot or has to brake hard, then the light turns yellow. If the driving gets worse, then the light turns red. The device uses a GPS chip, accelerometer, a CPU, and has Google Maps built in. GreenRoad has raised a total of of $40 million from Virgin Green Fund, Balderton Capital, Benchmark Capital, and DAG Ventures. Today the company has raised $10 million from Generation Investment, owned by Al Gore and David Blood (former CEO of Goldman Sachs asset management). [TechCrunch]