Quilt – the creators of an advanced ductless heat pump system for residential use – announced recently that it has closed a $9 million seed funding round of funding led by Lowercarbon Capital and Gradient Ventures. And the company’s mission to reduce home-based fossil fuel dependency attracted additional support from Incite Ventures, MCJ Collective, Garage Capital, Climate Capital, and Spacecadet.
Quilt developed a highly efficient electric heat pump system that is controlled through a first-of-its-kind integrated software platform. And Quilt’s design enables room-by-room control, creating precise climate zones throughout the home while eliminating the need for traditional furnaces and ductwork. This advanced system is housed within a sleek form factor designed by Mike&Maaike, an award-winning industrial design studio that is equally renowned for Google products as they are for modern furniture designs.
This platform’s built-in AI recognizes heating and cooling patterns throughout the home and automatically maximizes efficiency, increasing cost-savings over time and further incentivizing homeowners to switch to heat pumps and join the fight against climate change.
Lambert has served as Director at Google’s Area 120 where he led the division’s sustainability investments. And the Quilt team is led by two additional co-founders: CTO Matthew Knoll and COO Bill Kee. Before Quilt, Knoll managed hardware engineering teams within Area 120 and X, the moonshot factory – another Google property. Kee also managed product teams across Google for more than 15 years.
The founders together bring a vast and varied wealth of experience across hardware and software development to Quilt. For example, they have successfully built a team of personnel who have served with equally notable companies: Tesla, Apple, Twitter, and Nest, to name a few. And Nest Co-founder Matt Rogers is participating in the seed round through his firm Incite Ventures.
Along with hardware and software development, the team is also solving traditional installation challenges at a time when government incentives have accelerated interest in the systems. And the incentives offered in the Inflation Reduction Act provide up to $10,000 in rebates and tax credits for heat pumps. Plus Quilt aims to foster rapid adoption by making these new systems not only affordable but dramatically better and easier to have installed in the home.
In order to further accelerate adoption, Quilt has built a network of vetted HVAC professionals, partners, and organizations that can handle installations at the local level and make the consumer experience seamless. Much as Tesla is credited with creating a national network of charging stations to accelerate electric vehicle adoption, Quilt is taking a similar tack with HVAC services.
KEY QUOTES:
“Heat pumps are now widely recognized as the solution to decarbonizing home heating. However, most heat pump systems today are more difficult to use than their more mature fossil incumbents. We’re developing heat pumps that are better than any HVAC system of any kind. Quilt will be the smartest way to add heating or cooling to your home, full stop.”
— Quilt co-founder and CEO Paul Lambert
“At Nest we reimagined the lowly thermostat to make homes smarter, more comfortable, and more efficient – Quilt brings that same innovative vision to heat pumps. Quilt’s heat pumps and room-by-room climate control system will catalyze heat pump adoption, improve home comfort, and help slash household carbon emissions.”
— Nest Co-founder Matt Rogers
“We all know heat pumps are cheaper and cleaner than burning gas, but Quilt makes the first and only model you want to show off because it’s also sleeker.”
— Chris Sacca, founder of Lowercarbon Capital
“While there have been significant mechanical and electrical engineering advancements in heat pump technology, software innovation has been limited. The Quilt team has combined all of the latest advancements to create an unparalleled experience for homeowners. We couldn’t be more excited to lend our support.”
— Anna Patterson, Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
