Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu eyes the future

Nanoleaf’s CEO Gimmy Chu is readying sensor technology as the iconic LED modular lighting firm eyes the future.

Co-founder and CEO of Nanoleaf, Gimmy Chu, is bullish about new developments in smart home technology.

Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu is moving his company into the world of sensors and automated technology as smart home technology undergoes a massive transformation.

Nanoleaf is best known for its iconic internet connected LED lighting modules that consumers arrange in bespoke patterns on their walls.

Speaking with The Australian, Mr Chu said Australian sales of Nanoleaf devices had doubled every year since the company entered the Australian market, initially selling through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.

On July 14, it will be 10 years since Mr Chu, and fellow co-founders Christian Yan and Tom Rodinger founded Nanoleaf. Two of the three were electrical engineering students when they met at Toronto University and built a solar powered racing car that Mr Chu said had raced in Australia. That was 20 years ago.

Nanoleaf LED panels adorn walls around the world.

The threesome’s interest in everything solar and energy efficiency saw them also build a portable solar energy system before creating an energy efficient light bulb in 2013. The NanoLight could generate over 1600 lumens of brightness on 12 watts of power, the equivalent to a 100W incandescent light bulb. The project ran on Kickstarter.com.

They questioned why light had to come from incandescent bulbs; why not have LED lighting on a wall? “You’re constantly replacing light bulbs but with LED technology they last 30 years so you don‘t need to screw them in and screw them out,” Mr Chu said.

The trio became Inspired by the evenness of the faux daylight across open areas at the Venetian Hotel at Las Vegas. They thought they could replicate the effect in consumer homes. “That‘s where we came up with the idea of these panels. That was back in 2015 and we launched them in 2016.”

Nanoleaf Hexagons.

He said Australia had been “a really, really good market” for Nanoleaf panel sales with additional sales now through Officeworks and Amazon.

“The idea of modularity really enables people to create whatever pattern and design that they want. So far we‘ve done a lot with the wall, but there’s other spaces that we could expand into like ceiling areas, outdoor lighting, even potentially floor tiles.

“More importantly, our company is expanding beyond the panel products.”

Nanoleaf has now returned to also making LED light bulbs, but the new Essentials bulbs and new light strips are packed with emerging technology.

The next stop for Nanoleaf was low energy Essential lighting using the new Thread mesh connectivity technology.

They are compatible with the new Thread mesh radio system that will connect the next generation of smart home devices due in 2023. This comes with the rollout of Matter, which will make devices compatible across Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa and other networks.

For the moment, the Thread border routers in the Essentials bulbs and panels link to Apple HomePod mini devices which also have a little known Thread border router capability. It means these lights can also be controlled through an Apple HomeKit network, and the connectivity options will rapidly expand with Matter.

“We are already in the process of doing interoperability testing with Google and Amazon. This is for Thread and Matter devices. We have a new line-up of products that are coming out that are all going to be Matter enabled and also use Thread.”

Nanoleaf Lines can adorn ceilings.

While current Nanoleaf products used Wi-Fi, Nanoleaf Shapes, Elements and Lines were already enabled for Thread networks and would connect to light bulbs and strip lights.

The coming new technology has also inspired Nanoleaf to develop new smart home technology around sensors and automation.

“We believe that the smart home as it is today … is kind of gimmicky. It’s kind of annoying. Once Matter is available, the next movement is towards a truly intelligent home where sensors will automatically understand the context of what you are doing, and be able to do it for you without you having to reach for a light switch.

“We’re really going beyond decorative wall panels and lights.”