The first apartment buzzers with two-way telephony were installed in the 1950s, but since then, the pace of innovation for property access management has largely stalled. Walk around any US metropolitan area and you’ll see that nearly every multifamily building (and many commercial buildings) has a silver box buzzer and intercom system, maybe with a camera that’s hardwired to intercom screens in every unit. While these silver boxes have served their purpose for over half a century, the growing complexity of access management today is bringing them to the end of their useful life.
Today, properties face access challenges due to the significant growth in packages, food deliveries and on-demand services – while also trying to balance the need for safety and security. Residents need to receive their e-commerce deliveries when they’re not home without risking theft or let in their dogwalker without giving them full time access to their residence. This increase in visitors, deliveries and service providers means that building owners and operators need visibility and control over who has building access and an audit trail to ensure security for their tenants. Moreover, many newer buildings have amenities and shared spaces that also require access management from owners and operators. And with Millennials – i.e., digital natives – making up the bulk of the multifamily industry’s tenants today, demand for mobile-based smart access will only grow.
It is time for the industry to adopt digital technology, and we believe ButterflyMX is the leader in providing property access solutions, which is why we are excited to announce our growth equity investment in the company.
ButterflyMX provides a cloud-based access management and security platform tailored to the multifamily and commercial real estate industry. Residential and commercial tenants can use the platform’s market-leading, video-enabled intercom to verify and admit visitors directly from their smartphones. The software offers robust workflow functionality, including recurring guest automation, one-time pin access for deliveries, virtual key issuance, and automated access provisioning. It also integrates with other systems like the PMS and smart home apps, significantly reducing the operational burden on building owners and managers. The breadth of ButterflyMX’s solutions takes access and security a step further – offering modules for elevator access, vehicle access, cameras, and more – dramatically improving safety while creating a seamless experience for all.
We have been closely following ButterflyMX for almost four years, on the inside through our relationship with management and existing investors, as well as from the outside as we’ve seen the company’s video intercom consistently make its way into more and more buildings. Over that time, ButterflyMX has scaled its product suite to help manage access inside the front door along with new modules for package rooms and security cameras. ButterflyMX also has expanded its capabilities beyond multifamily to include HOAs, condos, gated communities, student housing, senior living, and the commercial market. Most importantly, alongside its tremendous growth and success, we’ve witnessed ButterflyMX consistently deliver delightful experiences to its customers and users, highlighted by 40,000+ five-star ratings to date. The customer feedback was among the most positive we’ve encountered during a diligence process, further reinforced by the company’s exceptional retention rates.
Our investment and partnership will help ButterflyMX broaden its product capabilities, strengthen its partner-based go-to-market strategy and further expand into new geographies and subsegments of the residential and commercial real estate markets – an opportunity projected to exceed $15.2 billion in annual revenue by 2029.
ButterflyMX marks FTV Capital‘s latest investment in the proptech ecosystem – a core thematic focus area – joining a growing group of FTV portfolio companies including Neptune Flood Insurance and Arden Insurance Services LLC . The company also joins a large cohort of FTV investments in the security space (ReliaQuest, ID.me) and joins VALD as a continuation of our experience investing behind software platforms enabled by modern hardware.
We’re thrilled to partner with Aaron Rudenstine, CEO, and the entire ButterflyMX team; and welcome Lead Edge Capital and Fifth Wall as co-investors in the round. We’re also excited to partner with two existing investors with whom we’ve had longstanding relationships: JMI Equity (ButterflyMX is our third shared portfolio company alongside Agiloft and OpenSesame) and Volition Capital(where I started my career in 2016). Together, we will usher property access into the digital age.
Robert Anderson | Brad Bernstein | Brent Fierro | Andy Fleischman | Karen Derr Gilbert | Adam Hallquist | Marija Perisa Kegel | Richard Liu | Alex Mason | Arun Singh | Tommy Tighe | Kapil Venkatachalam | Allison Walker