Brilliant’s $400 smart switches are still working... for now

Brilliant, maker of smart home controllers and smart light switches, is out of money. CEO Aaron Emigh confirmed in an exclusive interview with The Verge that the company has laid off the majority of its staff, shut down its support center, and is no longer selling its products. However, the company is maintaining its servers, and existing devices are continuing to operate in customers' homes.

But for exactly how long is a question Emigh couldn’t answer. “Indefinitely, I hope, but ultimately, it’s not in my hands,” he said, explaining that the company has entered an asset sale phase and is looking for a buyer following the failure of its Series C round to raise capital or find an acquisition company. “[The company] will be sold. We have a number of interested parties, and we will run a very quick bidding process and sell it,” said Emigh. 

Brilliant users began noticing something was up late last week. One Reddit user claiming to be a Brilliant reseller / installer posted that they couldn’t connect with the company. All of its products are completely out of stock on both its online store and on Amazon. YouTuber George Langabeer joined in on the speculation, saying customer support was impossible to get a hold of.

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