Runwise is valued based on its Series A funding of $19 million led by Fifth Wall in November 2022. The company has raised approximately $35 million in total funding, including an earlier $11 million round led by Initialized Capital, Susa Ventures, and Notation Capital in December 2021.

Strategic investors include prominent real estate owners such as Rudin Management and SOJA Ventures (the Swig family), alongside climate-focused funds like MCJ Collective.

Runwise transforms building heating and cooling systems through a combination of hardware, software, and continuous optimization. At its core is a proprietary control unit (the heat computer) that connects to existing boilers and HVAC systems, paired with wireless battery-powered temperature sensors placed throughout buildings.

In a typical installation, small sensors monitor apartment temperatures in real-time and communicate with the central Runwise control unit in the boiler room. Unlike conventional systems that operate on fixed schedules or outdoor temperature readings, Runwise uses actual indoor conditions to determine when and how intensely to heat a building, preventing the common problem of overheated apartments.

The system installs in as little as one day without requiring new wiring, making it ideal for retrofitting older buildings. A building super or property manager accesses a mobile app or web dashboard where they can view temperatures across their properties, receive alerts about potential issues, and make adjustments if needed. Most of the optimization happens automatically—the system continuously learns each building's heating patterns and adjusts accordingly.

Beyond heating, Runwise has expanded to control cooling systems and detect issues like water leaks, stuck toilet valves, and gas leaks—all using the same wireless network and unified dashboard. This approach turns aging buildings with mid-century mechanical systems into smart, data-driven operations without requiring extensive renovations.

Runwise operates a B2B subscription model providing Building Controls-as-a-Service. Rather than selling equipment outright, they install their proprietary hardware and sensors at minimal upfront cost, then charge recurring subscription fees that are structured to be less than the energy savings they produce.

The monetization logic creates strong alignment between Runwise and customer outcomes—they only succeed financially when customers continue seeing value through reduced energy bills and operational improvements. This contrasts with traditional equipment vendors who sell control hardware as a one-time purchase with little incentive to ensure ongoing performance.

The company uses a vertically integrated approach, handling everything from hardware manufacturing to installation and continuing optimization. This end-to-end control allows them to deliver consistent results across thousands of buildings while keeping margins higher than if they relied on third-party components or installation teams.

Operational costs include hardware production, installation labor, cloud infrastructure, and a team of experts who continuously refine algorithms and provide support. While the upfront investment in equipment creates higher capital intensity than pure software businesses, the recurring revenue model produces strong unit economics once a building has been on the platform for several years.

The go-to-market approach targets property owners and managers in regions with older building stock and higher energy costs, with particular success among larger portfolio owners who can quickly roll out the solution across multiple properties after seeing results in initial installations. Strategic investors who own real estate have accelerated this expansion by implementing Runwise across their own buildings.

Traditional building control companies like Heat-Timer, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, and Siemens have dominated the market for decades with mechanical devices and basic digital controllers.

These incumbents typically sell hardware through networks of HVAC companies and engineers as one-time purchases rather than ongoing services. While they have brand recognition and established channels, their solutions often lack sophisticated software, relying on outdated approaches like simple timers or outdoor temperature sensors that fail to optimize for actual indoor conditions.

Many of these systems, once installed, remain unchanged for decades with minimal updates or improvements. Buildings using these legacy controls often experience inconsistent heating, tenant complaints, and unnecessarily high energy bills despite the upfront investment.

Several focused competitors have emerged offering solutions similar to Runwise but with different approaches.

Radiator Labs uses smart covers placed on individual radiators to control heat output at the point of delivery rather than at the boiler level. Parity Inc. provides a similar optimization-as-a-service model with a focus on guaranteed savings and integration with demand response programs.

In New York City specifically, companies like EnTech and Intech 21 offer remote monitoring and basic control systems for boilers but typically lack the advanced algorithms and broad sensor network that Runwise deploys.

These competitors represent a growing recognition that building operations can be dramatically improved through technology, but each addresses the problem differently—Runwise differentiates through its wireless retrofit approach, portfolio-level analytics, and expansion into multiple building systems beyond just heating.

Indirectly, Runwise competes with more capital-intensive building upgrades. Companies like BlocPower offer financing to replace fossil fuel systems with electric heat pumps, while conventional energy service companies promote deep retrofits like insulation and window replacements.

Unlike these alternatives that might cost millions and require months of construction, Runwise positions itself as an immediate step that can be implemented quickly to reduce energy use while planning longer-term changes. This competition is more about capturing budget and attention than direct feature comparison.

For building owners facing pressure to reduce emissions—whether from regulations like NYC Local Law 97 or corporate sustainability goals—Runwise offers a way to achieve meaningful reductions without major disruption or capital expenditure, complementing rather than replacing eventual system replacements.

Runwise initially concentrated on the dense urban environment of New York City and surrounding areas where aging steam heating systems and high energy costs created an ideal starting market.

The company has since expanded to operate in at least 10 states, but this represents only a fraction of its potential footprint.

With approximately 12 million commercial and multifamily buildings in the United States that could benefit from its technology, Runwise has significant runway for domestic growth by establishing installation and support capabilities in new metropolitan areas.

Each region presents its own climate challenges, building stock characteristics, and energy cost dynamics that make the savings proposition compelling. Beyond domestic expansion, international markets—particularly in Europe where aging building stock and high energy prices create similar conditions—represent a major opportunity once the company establishes the necessary operational infrastructure and adapts to local regulations.

What began as a solution specifically for steam heating control has evolved into a broader platform for building operations.

By leveraging its existing wireless network infrastructure within buildings, Runwise can add new services with relatively minimal incremental cost, increasing revenue per customer while strengthening retention.

Beyond the core heating optimization, the company has added capabilities for cooling system management, water leak detection, running toilet identification, gas leak monitoring, and smart smoke detection—all feeding into the same dashboard and network.

This platform approach creates significant headroom for additional services that address property management pain points, from preventative maintenance prediction to tenant comfort analytics. Each new capability not only increases subscription revenue but also makes the platform more valuable and difficult to replace, reducing churn and increasing the lifetime value of each building.

A significant future expansion opportunity lies in connecting buildings to broader energy markets.

As utilities and grid operators increasingly value demand flexibility, Runwise-controlled buildings could participate in demand response programs—temporarily reducing heating or cooling usage during peak grid periods in exchange for payments.

The company's real-time control over thousands of buildings creates the potential to aggregate this flexible load capacity and monetize it through relationships with utilities or energy market participation.

Similarly, as buildings electrify their heating systems to meet carbon reduction goals, opportunities emerge around load shifting and rate optimization—running heat pumps during off-peak hours when electricity is cheaper while maintaining comfort.

This grid integration would expand Runwise's revenue model beyond just energy savings to include new income streams from grid services, positioning the company as part of the solution to challenges in grid modernization and renewable energy integration.

Hardware capital intensity: Runwise's business model requires upfront investment in physical sensors and control units for each building, creating financial exposure before subscription revenue recovers these costs. This capital-intensive approach means growth could be constrained during funding gaps, and any significant supply chain disruptions or component cost increases would directly impact profitability.

Real estate adoption friction: The commercial real estate industry is notoriously slow to adopt new technologies, with many building owners preferring familiar approaches and minimal change to established operations. Even with compelling financial returns, sales cycles can extend for months or years as multiple stakeholders (property managers, boards, facility teams) must approve changes to critical building systems, potentially limiting Runwise's growth rate despite the clear economic benefits.

Competitive commoditization: As building energy management grows more mainstream, both startup competitors and established control manufacturers are developing similar wireless, subscription-based offerings that could erode Runwise's differentiation. If competition intensifies and the core technology becomes commoditized, pricing pressure could squeeze margins while increasing customer acquisition costs, forcing the company to continually expand its feature set and prove superior outcomes to maintain its market position.