Runwise Raises $55M to Scale the Smart Operating System for Buildings
—Menlo Ventures leads oversubscribed Series B as Runwise’s platform redefines how buildings cut costs, boost safety, and drive climate impact, proving that smart infrastructure finally pencils—
NEW YORK, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Runwise—the leading smart operating system for buildings—today announced a $55M Series B financing round. The round was led by Menlo Ventures—a leading venture capital firm investing at the forefront of AI—with meaningful participation from new investors MassMutual Ventures, Nuveen Real Estate, Multiplier Capital, and Munich Re Ventures, alongside returning backers Soma Capital, Alumni Ventures, Helium-3, Cooley, and Fifth Wall. The fresh capital will support product innovation, team expansion, as well as entry into new core markets. The raise brings Runwise’s total funding to $79M.
“Most buildings—old and new—still run on 1960s technology, wasting billions of dollars, making living and working in cities less safe and comfortable, and generating massive amounts of CO2,” shared Jeff Carleton, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Runwise.”Every building needs to be rebuilt with software, not bricks. That’s what we’re doing at Runwise, transforming outdated infrastructure into intelligent systems that can be installed in a day, paid back in months, and scaled across entire portfolios, said Lee Hoffman, President & Co-Founder, Runwise. “This round gives us the fuel to accelerate that mission and become the global default for the real estate industry,” added Mike Cook, Chief Growth Officer & Co-Founder, Runwise.
This round was twice oversubscribed, underscoring investor confidence in Runwise’s category-defining approach to making buildings smarter, more efficient, and cost-effective. Steve Sloane, Partner at Menlo Ventures, will join Runwise’s Board of Directors as part of this investment.
“Over the next decade, there will only be two types of companies: those that drive AI innovation and those that enable AI to transform the physical world,” said Sloane. “Runwise is perfectly positioned at the intersection of these forces, bridging the critical gap between AI and the built environment. Their platform is fundamentally changing how buildings operate, creating smarter, more sustainable spaces at scale. We’re excited to partner with Runwise as they bring this transformative tech to new heights.”
Runwise is now installed in more than 10,000 buildings across the U.S., serving upwards of 1,000 customers, including major real estate owner-operators like Related, Equity Residential, First Service Residential, MTA, Port Authority, National Grid, Rudin, LeFrak, UDR, Douglas Elliman, and Akam, among others. These assets have collectively saved over $100 million in energy costs to-date.
“Runwise delivers exactly what building operators need: real savings and simplicity,” stated John Skipper, Director of Energy Management at First Service Residential. “More than 150 of our buildings have installed Runwise, and in most buildings we have seen up to 30% in energy savings, while making the buildings more comfortable, and easier to manage. It’s a win for affordability, a win for operations, and a win for the environment.”
Runwise’s vertically integrated platform combines proprietary hardware, wireless connectivity, and cloud-based software to automate and optimize building operations. With rapid deployment and a typical payback period of under five months, it marks the first time the economics of installing a smart operating system for buildings actually pencil — unlocking true portfolio-wide scale. Since its seed round, the company has grown over 30X and is on track to nearly double again this year, driven by demand for solutions that deliver tangible ROI, operational simplicity, and environmental impact.
Runwise is the most capitalized and widely deployed smart building platform in the U.S., setting a new standard for how smart buildings operate, proving that the future of infrastructure runs on software.
About Runwise
Runwise is the leading smart control platform transforming buildings into software. Installed in over 10,000 buildings across the U.S., Runwise operates key heating, cooling, electric, and water systems more intelligently, helping real estate owners and operators cut energy costs, boost safety, automate management, and reduce emissions at scale. Founded in 2010 by Jeff Carleton, Lee Hoffman, and Michael Cook, Runwise is based in NYC. Its vertically integrated platform combines proprietary wireless technology and hardware, with cloud-based software to automate building operations with rapid deployment and payback in under five months. Runwise has saved customers over $100 million in energy costs to-date and is one of the largest private-sector reducers of carbon emissions in the country. Backed by top investors including Menlo Ventures, Fifth Wall, and Nuveen Real Estate, Runwise is setting a new standard for how smart buildings operate. To learn more, visit www.runwise.com.
About Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures, is a leading early-stage venture capital firm investing at the forefront of AI. Our portfolio includes more than 80 public companies and over 165 exits through mergers and acquisitions. Currently managing more than $6 billion in assets, we invest at every stage across Consumer, Enterprise, and Healthcare. Our portfolio companies include Abnormal Security, Anthropic, Benchling, Carta, Chime, Harness, Pinecone, Poshmark, Pillpack, Recursion, Roku, Rover, Siri, Typeface, Uber, and Warby Parker. We strive to have a positive impact on everything we do. When we’re in, we’re ALL IN, and we are ALL IN on AI. To learn more, visit menlovc.com.
SOURCE Runwise
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