Keyless, codeless, simple, social, totally secure—that’s the August Smart Lock, an electronic door lock that lets you control access to your home through mobile apps. Whether it’s the plumber tomorrow, the dogwalker every afternoon, or guests for your backyard barbecue this weekend—August can be programmed to allow them in only when you want and even when you’re not inside. San Francisco-based August Home is the brainchild of Jason Johnson and Yves Béhar. Jason’s a technologist. Yves is a master-class industrial designer of such things as the Jawbone headset; Time named him to its “Top 25 Design Visionaries” list.

We met Jason early on in August’s life and were quickly impressed by Jason’s smarts in bringing in Yves to form a magical founding team. We were captivated by their shared ambition to create a device that not only worked flawlessly but brought out an emotive reaction. That’s what we think technology for consumers ought to do. We led Series A funding for August in 2013. In December 2017, Assa Abloy, the huge Swedish lock manufacturer, acquired August Home.