Fifth Wall Leads $5M Seed in One Raven to Take the Smart Home Off the Cloud

The team that built SmartRent into the largest smart apartment platform in real estate is back with a new company and a new customer. One Raven launched today out of Phoenix with a $5M seed round led by Fifth Wall to rebuild the smart home around a single premise: the home's intelligence, and its data, never leave the home.

Fifth Wall founder Brendan Wallace joins the board. It is the second time the firm has backed co-founders Lucas Haldeman and Sarah Roudybush, who previously scaled SmartRent across institutional multifamily portfolios.

The Local-First Smart Home

At the center of the system is the One Raven Home Server. Every device runs locally, and homeowner data stays on the home network. There are no subscriptions, no hidden fees, and no behavioral data monetized in the background. Homeowners configure each home with the devices they want: thermostats, locks, leak detection, and security sensors. Every system arrives pre-paired and factory-configured, so nothing needs to be set up device by device. Remote access is built in without routing the home through an external cloud.

The pitch lands against the first generation's track record. Smart homes became a maze of apps, recurring fees, and cloud dependencies. Devices lose functionality when the internet drops, when pricing models change, or when features migrate behind higher tiers. One Raven bets that homeowners would rather own the intelligence in their homes than rent it.

Second-Time Founders, Second-Time Backing

Haldeman and Roudybush spent a decade wiring the institutional side of residential real estate. SmartRent became the default smart home layer for renters and commercial owners of multifamily portfolios. One Raven flips the customer: the same infrastructure DNA, built for the people who live in the home rather than the companies that operate the building.

“We spent a decade building the smart home for the renters and commercial owners of multifamily portfolios. One Raven is for every homeowner who wants a modern living experience while maintaining their privacy.” — Lucas Haldeman, Co-Founder and CEO

Haldeman leads technology and sales. Roudybush, co-founder and President, leads marketing and operations, and frames the product as proof that the intelligent home does not require cloud dependence or monthly fees to function.

“Fifth Wall is backing Lucas and Sarah for a second time because we believe they are building the next generation of the smart home.” — Brendan Wallace, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Fifth Wall

Wallace describes the first generation as fragmented, cloud-dependent, and built around recurring fees, and One Raven as its inverse: a local-first, privacy-first platform designed for homeowners, builders, and a future in which the home itself becomes the intelligence infrastructure.

Why Now

Consumer sentiment has already moved. A November 2024 FTC staff report found that 89% of smart products surveyed failed to disclose how long they would receive software updates. Pew Research Center reports that 81% of Americans are concerned about how companies use their data. Privacy is shifting from a feature to a purchase criterion, and product longevity is following.

What Comes Next

The capital funds scaled production of the One Raven Home Server and the initial device suite, expanded the company's local-intelligence software, and grew the sales and partnership teams. One Raven is hiring across hardware engineering, software, field deployment, and go-to-market roles in Phoenix, with its first homebuilder partnerships set to be announced later in Q3.

For Fifth Wall, the deal extends a repeat-founder playbook at the intersection of real estate and technology. The firm, the largest investor focused on tech for the built environment, backs nearly 170 companies, including Opendoor, Procore, Blend, Hippo, and Bilt Rewards, with LPs spanning nearly 115 of the world's largest real estate owner-operators, from CBRE and Hines to Related and Starwood.

The first generation of the smart home lived in the cloud. The founders who defined it are betting the next one lives at home.

Learn more at oneraven.com.