NoiseAware Raises $8M Series A to Grow its Rental Property Protection Footprint

Dallas-based NoiseAware, a provider of smart noise monitoring solutions, has raised an $8 million Series A funding round to accelerate its product innovation and market expansion.

The raise was led by S3 Ventures, a VC firm focused on Texas, and Thayer Ventures, which invests in technology-enabled travel companies. With the deal, Eric Engineer from S3 Ventures and Jeff Jackson from Thayer Ventures will join NoiseAware’s board. Stephanie Fuhrman, founder of Catalyst Innovation Lab and former head of Innovation at Greystar, will also join the board.

The disturbance detecting startup said in a statement that this makes for a world-class investment team that combines travel and lodging expertise, SaaS experience, and a robust industry network.

“We’re excited to add NoiseAware to our portfolio of trailblazing Texas-grown companies,” Engineer said in a statement. “[CEO Andrew Schulz] and his team have established a clear leadership position by elegantly solving a real problem with a truly unique offering–coupled with a compelling vision for expansion into new markets.”

According to NoiseAware, the investment will “build on its foundation in the short-term rental industry”—allowing for new partnerships, an international launch, and new hires. To scale the impact of the business, chief operating officer Peter Taylor is leading a new round of executive hires across all disciplines and experience levels.

The team aims to be a leader in smart noise monitoring for multifamily communities.

“With the explosive growth of the short-term rental industry, NoiseAware is poised to make a significant impact on how property managers and homeowners can optimize the earnings on their rentals,” Thayer Ventures’ Jeff Jackson said in a statement. “NoiseAware provides a unique, automated offering that we feel will grow to be valuable in many verticals within the entire lodging industry, including multifamily and traditional hotels.”

NoiseAware began when Co-Founder Dave Krauss rented his apartment to vacationing guests. What began as a typical Airbnb rental quickly became every host’s nightmare when someone threw a raging party. Krauss was held responsible, and lost thousands of dollars to pay for repairs.

Fellow Co-Founder Andrew Schulz responded by building technology that would eventually power the patented NoiseAware platform, which alerts homeowners via mobile app anytime guests are potentially causing a disturbance. When renters are getting rowdy or could be destroying a vacation house, the NoiseAware sensor sends an alert, helping to quickly resolve and prevent property problems around the world.

The startup was officially founded in 2015 as the first with a solution to the number one signal of possible property damage: noise. Its privacy-safe smart solution saves property owners and managers both time and money, leading to a maximum return on rentals and stress-free management experience.

To date, NoiseAware has monitored more than one million stays—that amounts to short-term rental homeowners and managers saving $105 million in lost rental revenue due to noise disturbances. Overall, the intended outcome is “responsible guests, good neighbors, and community harmony.”

“I am incredibly proud of our team’s steadfast focus on our customers’ needs that has empowered the company to grow from a simple invention into something that both assures our customers’ homes are protected and saves them money,” Schulz said in a statement. “We are looking forward to leveraging knowledge from our new partners to help even more people concentrate on their business operation with the peace of mind that NoiseAware is keeping their investment secure.”