“Three million people get locked out annually in New York City. Most call an emergency locksmith and, on average, pay $150. I wanted to come up with a better solution” said Greg Marsh, a current Columbia Business School student now on leave to allow time to launch his venture KeyMe.
KeyMe is a secure, cloud-based “keychain” that stores keys’ cutting instructions which makes it easy to have a replacement made at any time. Using the free app, you simply place your key on a white piece of paper and scan the front and back. The app then translates that into two pieces of information: the key type and a series of numbers that serves as the depth cutting instructions for locksmiths. Because KeyMe is cloud-based it’s also possible to share keys between friends and family members.
“The nice thing about the app is that from day one it can address a national audience. Everyone can scan their key, and then if they get locked out we are a million times cheaper and more convenient than a locksmith. Hopefully it’ll help a lot of people quickly.”
KeyMe has a high-level encryption and doesn’t store information that can match the key information with a location. Logging into your account requires fingerprint authentication.
Last year, KeyMe installed self-service kiosks in five Manhattan 7-Eleven stores that can both make duplicates of keys or scan keys for future lockouts. Duplicate keys cost $3.49 for basic brass keys and $5.99 for novelty keys.
In December 2015, KeyMe closed a Series B funding round, raising $20 million. Investors include Comcast Ventures, Battery Ventures, White Star Capital, 7-Ventures, Ravin Gandhi and The Polsky Family Office, among others.
Copy your keys today: https://www.keyme.net/.