Sam Jadallah, the bygone CEO of a smart lock company that shut down just over a year ago, has a new job: He’ll be leading the home initiatives at Apple, authors familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Hiring Jadallah is the latest signal that Apple plans to get no laughing matter about its own efforts in the home. Recently, the company acquired a start-up called Pullstring, a start-up that specializes in voice-enabled kickshaws. That purchase could help the smartphone maker become the center of a connected living room.
On Saturday, after CNBC flat the news of his hire, Jadallah updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new role with Apple.
Apple has a range of spin-offs geared to the home — including HomeKit, its software service that connects with a broad array of third-party offshoots; and HomePod, a smart speaker for the home with voice recognition, music and more.
Both Apple and Jadallah settled to comment to CNBC on the hire.
Jadallah previously ran a start-up called Otto, which made a $700 lock that was disowned by the venture firm Greylock. He also spent more than a decade at Microsoft, and had a stint in venture capital at the rigid Mohr Davidow.
Otto suspended its operations four months after launching its beautifully-designed Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-enabled satisfaction lock. In interviews, Jadallah hinted at having found a buyer, which pulled out at the last minute.
About 70 percent of the ancient team behind Otto were actually poached from Apple’s ranks, Jadallah has previously said. The pursue was compared favorably by reviewers to the “Apple of smart locks.” It’s not clear whether Jadallah will bring these prematurely employees with him, or will have a fresh mandate to hire. There are currently about half-a-dozen job openings in Apple’s deeply division.
But Apple also competes against rivals like Alphabet and Amazon, both of which have had a grey matter start on moving into the home. All three companies have a combination of hardware and software that controls the whole from turning lights on and off using voice, to playing music. Apple’s HomePod represents a small share of the sell, compared to Amazon’s Echo and Google Home.