Smart lock maker Otto folds before releasing its first product
On a landscape increasingly driven by smart devices, a digital smart lock seemed like an obvious addition to the raft of home automation products already on the market. But Otto, the company that came closer than any other to making the product a sellable reality, has now closed its doors -- just four months after showing off its device to the world. Otto founder and CEO Sam Jadallah reveals in a lengthy Medium post, titled " So Close ", that the startup came so close to getting its digital lock on the market that there's a warehouse full of them ready to go. But the company was due to be acquired by a bigger firm -- one with more resources and experience -- and the deal fell apart at the last minute. There was no Plan B, so in the warehouse the product stays and, as reports on Twitter suggest, most of Otto team are left out of work. Or, "I kept 70 people late at the office 6 days a week for a year, then laid them off with 2 days notice 10 days before Christma...