Indian American entrepreneur Sanjay Patel’s TiO gets $250,000 investment, to expand in Virginia

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WASHINGTON, DC: Florida-based Indian American entrepreneur Sanjay Patel’s home automation company, TiO (Turn It On), has got an investment of $250,000 from The Launch Place.

TiO will grow its operations by hiring additional employees with an extensive long-term plan through 2020, according to a news release from the Launch Place, reported Danville Register & Bee.

“We are thrilled to announce The Launch Place as an investor in our line of common sense home automation products,” TiO President and CEO Sanjay Patel said in a prepared statement. “With the support of the Launch Place, we will be able to further expose our brand to builders and custom installers throughout the United States.”

TiO provides a home system that involves complete wireless control and an automation ecosystem including hardware and software. It includes music and lighting control, climate, cameras, security, televisions and other devices to provide control of everything from an app.

The investment marks the 13th for the Launch Place, totaling $2.5 million. The organization announced a $250,000 investment in iScribes last month.

TiO has locations in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in Florida, and will add a location in the same building as The Launch Place in Danville, Virginia. He hopes to initially add one or two employees, and five to seven over the next couple of years, he said. Positions would be in accounting, finance and marketing.

Patel said he wasn’t sure what salaries would be, but they would pay $50,000 minimum.

In an interview last year to hometoys.com at trade show CEDIA 2016, Patel had informed that they were debuting the next generation of TouchLite and Stand Alone Mode and Remote Access.

“The TouchLite 4 is our signature load agnostic touchpad controller that’s both elegant and functional with adaptable touch sensitive buttons and simple custom labeling. The new product features LED light bars, which separate the buttons and brighten once a user presses the button creating an ease of functionality and sophisticated appearance, as well as many other new features. In addition, we’re launching Remote Access, which is free for all new and existing TiO users, and provides users the ability to access their TiO systems from anywhere and be able to control basic functions, such as lighting, climate, security, garage doors and more. Lastly, Stand Alone Mode, in conjunction with the StealthStream 1, offers the most streamlined automation for audio components. The new software allows up to three SS1 devices to be fully supported in Stand Alone Mode, without the need for any additional hardware,” he said.

Sanjay Patel earned his Bachelor’s of Science from North Carolina State University and his Master’s in Business Administration from Duke – Fuqua School of Business.

The Chairman of TiO, Vinu Patel, received his B.S. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the University of Baroda in India, and an M.S. in Electronic Technology from the RCA Institute of Technology.