KeyMe – the Long Island City-based startup that’s looking to upend the $5 billion locksmith biz – is turning the key on a national expansion.
The company, which operates key-making kiosks in local stores, has just bagged $7.8 million in funding that it will use to add hundreds of kiosks across the country within the next 12 to 18 months, KeyMe founder and CEO Greg Marsh told the Daily News.
“We will aggressively roll out in New York and hit other cities in the U.S.,” Marsh said.
“By the end of this year, we would hope to have dozens of kiosks in New York.”
There are currently KeyMe kiosks in three city stores: 7-Eleven at Third Ave. and Bowery; Bed Bath Beyond at 19th St. and Sixth Ave.; and Rite Aid on Court St. in Brooklyn. One more is situated at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, N.Y.
7-Eleven, the first retailer to house KeyMe kiosks, is among the investors in the current round. Others include White Star Capital, Battery Ventures and early KeyMe investor Ravin Gandhi.
KeyMe launched last June as an alternative to the neighborhood locksmith and has caught on quickly.
“We have made tens of thousands of keys in our kiosks and through our mobile app,” Marsh said.
The kiosks dispense duplicate keys at a cost of $2.49 to $5.99.
By the end of this year, we would hope to have dozens of kiosks in New York.
They also provide an insurance policy against lockouts: customers can scan and create a virtual copy of their keys that gets stored in the cloud for free.
In the event of a lockout, they can go back to the kiosk and print out a new key for $20, far less than the $150 to $200 that a locksmith might charge.
Alternatively, customers can use KeyMe’s app to scan their keys with their smartphones and save a virtual copy.
If they get locked out, a locksmith can make a new key from scratch by following instructions displayed on their phone, or new keys can be ordered from KeyMe.
“We are building this huge ecosystem to store keys and retrieve them,” Marsh said.
With the new funds, KeyMe will be rolling out sleeker kiosks – measuring 2 feet by 2 feet – and will add key types including mailbox keys and padlock keys.
The company will also beef up its 13-person staff.
“In the next twelve months, we will probably add 10 to 15 people,” Marsh said.
