We are pleased to announce our investment in VergeSense.

Our world is flooded with data and insights. From bits, bytes to gigabytes and more, we take stock and we study. But for the ubiquity of buildings, we have never collected the data and analyzed their usage patterns.

Zero-ing in on the workplace, remote workers, distributed teams, and flexible multi-tenant office space are just a sampling of the numerous ways our office dynamics have transformed over the last two decades. Open layouts, team placements, conference rooms, and even napping pods are all decisions that have historically been based on accumulated wisdom and rough guesses, but rarely on hard data. COVID-19 brought in another layer of complexity and rapid change. We know that our offices will never disappear, but the way we interact with and use our office will evolve. With so much transformation, little has been done to determine the efficacy or impact of these changes. 

Starting with building and workplace design, VergeSense combines deep-learning sensors with space-intelligence software to help existing corporate real estate owners better understand their current space, as well as the new era of designers and space providers build purposeful spaces that work for our changing world. The team has already established a beachhead in the corporate real estate market and partnered with dozens of Fortune 1000 customers all over the world to unearth opportunities to make smarter use of their space. With easy-to-install and best-in-class sensors that meet the needs of a range of companies and environments, VergeSense delivers superior functionality and is igniting a new era of data and insights. 

The challenge was to develop a brand that could match VergeSense’s technical leadership, and speak to large enterprises while magnifying the company’s fresh, innovative approach to understanding physical spaces. Working with the team on two phases of their brand development, West partnered with VergeSense to unlock their market opportunity by   establishing a brand foundation and executing the design of assets that reflect this new positioning. With new visual and verbal designs, we made space for VergeSense to take hold of their market opportunity and lead their industry. Investing in the company was a natural progression of our partnership and captures the efficacy of our venture studio model. 

“Even before COVID-19, we saw how powerful VergeSense's technology could be in helping us experience and envision buildings and spaces in entirely new ways. With so many companies also now trying to figure out how to use and design office spaces in order to comply with new health precautions, and more generally as what we demand from our offices and office spaces changes, we are excited about the opportunity ahead and our partnership thus far.” 

-Matt Hirst, West 

“When building a company, it’s not always enough to have a great product. Equally as important is how you communicate that product to the market. We were looking for a partner that could help us think holistically about how we position ourselves, both visually and verbally, and how we show up in the market. West helped us do just that.

We were impressed by the West team and their ability to think both creatively and strategically and have a solid grasp of our business challenge. When the opportunity arose to bring West on as investors, it was a natural fit.”

-Dan Ryan, VergeSense

Companies thrive when the people within them thrive. In a world where we are deeply affected by our surroundings, and spend a large majority of our day working, we are blind when it comes to measuring and understanding efficacy and impact. Without these insights, how do we decide what shapes and defines our work environment? In using technology to make the built environment a happier, healthier, and more productive place, VergeSense is helping us design and build with purpose.