Tech: Buddy turns on distribution channels for its smart-home lightswitch

Internet of Things (IoT) company Buddy Technologies (ASX:BUD) is bringing its wifi-enabled LIFX Switch to market.

The company said that after a debut production run, its first batch of LIFX units had arrived in Australia.

B2B customers who already have a trading relationship with Buddy will get first dibs, with pre-sales available for retail customers and deliveries expected by late-January 2020.

Shares in the company were up 10 per cent in morning trade and the stock has had a good month, almost doubling since November 1.

Sales outlook

Buddy’s LIFX Switch is an in-wall switch that connects to the internet, enabling the user to control lights in the home or business using a mobile application. The product is also compatible with voice-control technology such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Buddy said the product would retail at $179.95, discounted during the pre-sale period to $149.95 ahead of the official roll-out in late January.

The company said its announcement today gave customers the opportunity to time their pre-sale purchases with the Black Friday online sales promotion.

Buddy also announced that its BR30 and BR30+ smart-light products had received International Protection (IP) marking for resistance to dust and water. The lights also have the capacity to operate at temperatures as low as -30C.

Stockhead has contacted the company for additional comment as to whether it expects the LIFX rollout to make a material contribution to revenues in the 2020 financial year.

In other ASX tech news today:

Shares in ad-tech company Adslot (ASX:ADJ) ticked higher after the company announced a data-sharing arrangement with Oracle Data Cloud. CEO Ben Dixon said the the partnership would allow Oracle customers to “leverage their proprietary data to drive smarter and more effective advertising”.

And buy now, pay later stock Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) went into a trading halt after announcing a capital raising. The company is looking to raise $50m via a non-underwritten placement to sophisticated and institutional investors. It will also seek a further $10m via a share purchase plan to all eligible investors. The deal is priced at $3.70, a 5.6 per cent discount to Z1P’s last trading price. Zip Co said it would deploy the capital to diversify its product range and fund an expansion into the UK market.