Battle for Building Operating Layer
Lee Hoffman, co-founder of Runwise, on the operating system for buildings
The real threat is not better widgets, it is a different distribution and product model. Legacy building controls vendors usually sell boxes through contractors, then leave owners with fragmented systems and weak software. Runwise is arguing that the winning company will install its own wireless hardware fast, charge a recurring fee tied to savings, and become the day to day control layer for heating, cooling, leaks, gas, and eventually other building workflows.
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Runwise’s wedge is retrofits with payback in months, not multi year capital projects. It says it can enter an existing building, install wireless controls in a day or less, cut energy use by 10 to 30%, and price the service so annual savings are many times the fee. That is a software style sale in a hardware market.
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The comparison set is not just Honeywell and Johnson Controls. New entrants like 75F and BrainBox AI also pair their own controls or optimization layer with modern software, and both attracted strategic capital from major industry players, which shows the market is shifting toward integrated systems rather than standalone building hardware.
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Incumbents are not standing still. Honeywell launched Advance Control for Buildings in January 2024, and Johnson Controls expanded AI features in OpenBlue in 2024. That makes the likely outcome less total wipeout, and more a fight over who owns the primary operating layer and customer relationship inside the building.
Where this heads is toward buildings being managed more like fleets of connected machines. The company that owns the sensor network, the control logic, and the direct billing relationship can keep adding modules and data services over time. That shifts value away from one time equipment sales and toward recurring software like control of the entire property stack.