Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller

Key numbers

The product

Rachio replaces the plastic irrigation timer on the garage wall with a Wi-Fi controller that pulls hyper-local forecasts and skips watering when rain, frost or wind makes it pointless. Schedules adjust by season and zone through a mobile app, with Alexa, Google and Nest integration, cutting outdoor water use by 30-50%. It is EPA WaterSense certified and sold to homeowners who want to save water without thinking about sprinklers.

How they did it

Chris Klein, Franz Garsombke and Matthew Reisman started Rachio in Denver in 2012 after Klein watched neighbourhood sprinklers running during a rainstorm. They built one of the first widely adopted Wi-Fi sprinkler controllers, raised a $7.1M Series A in 2016 and a $10M Series B in 2018 with the Amazon Alexa Fund. It became a Certified B Corp and the top-rated controller on Amazon with 4.9 stars across 150,000+ reviews. By 2023 the community had saved 150 billion gallons of water, and in 2025 irrigation giant Rain Bird acquired the company.

Why it worked

• Weather-aware automation removed a boring chore people hated
• A sustainability mission built trust and unlocked utility rebates
• Deep smart-home integrations widened the funnel
• A public impact metric - gallons saved - drove word of mouth