ADT and Life360 join forces in $50M deal to help families feel safe

We love it when our conferences yield more than just self-serving back-patting. And they do: We hear again and again from attendees about how our events provide valuable, timely information and top-notch networking.

Case in point: At this year’s Mobile Summit, two of our sponsors, ADT and Life360, actually signed the term sheet for a partnership and investment deal at the event.

As part of this deal, ADT is leading Life360’s current investment round of $50 million, of which it is contributing $25 million. The deal is also strategic, as it will provide a valuable lead generation source for ADT. The two companies will also work together to develop co-branded mobile security applications.

ADT is a venerable alarm company whose main business is installing alarm and camera systems in people’s homes. Life360 is a startup whose business is helping families and friends keep track of one another, through private “circles” that show each member’s whereabouts.

“Our goal is really to win the family network,” said Life360 founder and chief executive Chris Hulls in an interview with VentureBeat.

“You trust us with your family’s safety. It’s a very natural extension to connect to things like your home,” he added.

Life360 wants to truly be the “social network for families,” and believes it should be all about location rather than just photo-sharing and status updates.

“The big problem with ADT is that people are paying $50 a month and they’re not using it. They realized that the future of security isn’t just on the home but that follows you around, and we’re enabling all of that for them,” said Hulls.

The partnership’s first product will be a mobile app utilizing features of ADT Chaperone, an existing on-the-go personal security tracking offering. The new app will utilize ADT’s 24/7 monitoring centers that can connect people to police, fire, and emergency medical responders.

“Soon every family will be able to use the app to meet their unique needs, whether it’s providing a chaperone for a child walking home from school and verifying they reached their destination, or knowing to arm the home’s security system when the house is vacant,” said ADT senior vice president and chief innovation officer Arthur Orduña, in an official statement.

Hulls shared that the two companies started talking about a year ago and saw an immediate alignment in vision that “security is more than just the home.”

So, during a co-hosted private dinner at this year’s Mobile Summit, the two companies decided it was a perfect time to cement their new partnership and officially sign the deal.

Life360 was founded in 2008 and is located in San Francisco. Including this new round of funding, the company has raised a total of $76.1 million to date. ADT was founded in 1974 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

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