Amazon invests in Columbus startup with debut of Alexa Fund

Story excerpt provided by Columbus Business First.

Written by Carrie Ghose.

Amazon.com Inc. chose a garage-door control device invented in Columbus for one of the first investments of its $100 million Alexa Fund announced Thursday to support startups working on voice-control technology.

Garageio, made by Columbus-based Alottazs Labs LLC, also will be among the first third-party devices to integrate with Amazon’s Echo, a voice-control box to control gadgets around the home.

The garage door device and accompanying app launched last year, connecting to any manufacturer’s garage door opener, so the owner can monitor and control the door while away. When Garageio completes its integration with Echo, the user can issue verbal commands from within the house to check if the door is open, and then open or close it.

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Originally published June 25, 2015.