KeyMe – Tech that Saves Keys to the Cloud

0
1569
KeyMe

Anyone that has ever been locked out of the house, car, apartment or office knows that calling a locksmith is costly and time consuming.  Besides waiting for the locksmith to arrive, it can easily cost hundreds of dollars to get a lock opened, fixed and/or replaced.  According to HomeAdvisor, the average locksmith visit is over $150 but can easily top $250 depending on your location and needs. Now there is a new, high-tech way to avoid the cost and get your locks opened for a fraction of the price – KeyMe.

KeyMe Logo

KeyMe Revolutionizes the Locksmith Industry

KeyMe is the rapidly growing company that is revolutionizing the $7.5 billion locksmith industry and has announced a new, aggressive round of national expansion that will see the company’s key copy kiosks added to more than 50 locations per week, with plans to have over 2,000 in leading retailers by the end of 2017.  KeyMe kiosks can be found in retailers across the U.S., including: 7-Eleven, Albertsons, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kmart/Sears and Rite Aid.

KeyMe has app for iOS and Android

The KeyMe App

The KeyMe kiosks allow users to instantly make copies of their keys and enables consumers to securely store digital copies of their keys so that if they ever get locked out or lose their keys, they can make a spare key at the kiosk, saving hundreds of dollars that would ordinarily be spent on an emergency locksmith visit. Customers can use KeyMe’s free iOS and Android apps to save their keys in the cloud, creating a seamless multi-platform experience.   Key storage is completely free and users can save and store as many keys as they like. 

KeyMe kiosk

Sharing

Once a key is successfully scanned and stored, users can easily share they key with family or friends via SMS or email using the kiosk or mobile app. Customers simply access the key they wish to share on their “digital keychain” and tap the “share” button. They will be prompted to submit the recipient’s email address or telephone number and KeyMe will send an email confirmation upon sharing a key and another email when the recipient has accepted the key.

KeyMe kiosk

 Check out the Press Release 

KeyMe Announces Significant Round of National Expansion With
Key Copying Kiosks in 2,000+ Locations by End of 2017

Kiosks Revolutionize Costly Locksmith Services by Enabling Customers to Save “Digital Copies” in the Cloud and Copy and Share Home, Office, Automotive Keys and Fobs

May 16, 2017, New York, NY – KeyMe, the rapidly growing company that is revolutionizing the locksmith industry, today announced a new, aggressive round of national expansion that will see the company’s key copy kiosks added to more than 50 locations per week, with plans to have over 2,000 in leading retailers by the end of 2017.  KeyMe kiosks can be found in retailers across the U.S., including: 7-Eleven, Albertsons, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kmart/Sears. and Rite Aid.

Cities that will see a major increase in KeyMe kiosks include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and San Diego.  Many new cities will have access to KeyMe kiosks for the first time in 2017 including Atlanta, Houston, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Phoenix, Detroit, Seattle-Tacoma, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Denver, Cleveland-Akron (Canton), Pittsburgh and Portland. All kiosks are manufactured in the U.S. and the company has grown from 15 employees to over 90.

The company has secured $70M in total funding, including a $25M round of funding led by Benefit Street Partners (“BSP”), an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners. This follows a $15M Series C round of funding in September 2016 led by QuestMark Partners and a $20M Series B round of funding in December 2015 led by Comcast Ventures.

With this national expansion, these “3rd generation” kiosks will feature the latest technology, enabling consumers to copy virtually any type of key, key fob, car key (including transponder keys) and other recreational vehicles. Typical brass keys copied at a kiosk start at $2.99 depending on the key type, and KeyMe also offers custom designed keys (sports teams, movie characters, bottle opener, etc.) at a slightly higher price. Prices start at $19.99 for non-transponder car keys and range from $69.99 – $89.99 for “fob” and transponder keys.

“KeyMe will make millions of keys in 2017, as tremendous consumer and retailer demand is driving the deployment of hundreds of new kiosks,” said Greg Marsh, CEO of KeyMe.  “We are on the forefront of the industry, utilizing the latest technology in our next-gen kiosks, allowing us to provide an even better and more seamless experience for the consumer than ever before.”

How it Works:

The KeyMe kiosks allow users to instantly make copies of their keys. It enables consumers to securely store digital copies of their keys so that if they ever get locked out or lose their keys, they can make a spare key at the kiosk, saving hundreds of dollars that would ordinarily be spent on an emergency locksmith visit. Customers can use KeyMe’s free iOS and Android apps to save their keys in the cloud, creating a seamless multi-platform experience.   Key storage is completely free and users can save and store as many keys as they like. 

Once a key is successfully scanned and stored, users can easily share they key with family or friends via SMS or email using the kiosk or mobile app. Customers simply access the key they wish to share on their “digital keychain” and tap the “share” button. They will be prompted to submit the recipient’s email address or telephone number and KeyMe will send an email confirmation upon sharing a key and another email when the recipient has accepted the key.

Automotive Support:

The KeyMe kiosk is the first and only kiosk with the ability to support approximately 85% of all automotive keys on the market, including modern “fob” automotive keys. Consumers have historically been forced to go to a dealer for such keys and often pay hundreds of dollars, now they’re able to obtain a key at a fraction of the cost. This technology enables KeyMe to scan car keys at the kiosk, read the transponder, and ship a fully programmed copy with a shipment tracking code in under two days. KeyMe can also replicate keys for watercraft, recreational, and commercial vehicles.

Accurate and Secure:

In addition to convenience, KeyMe’s advanced robotics and artificial intelligence technology produces key copies that are more accurate than the originals, whereas traditional key duplication services have 15-20 percent error rates as a result of their “tracing” methodology. Customers can also use KeyMe’s free, downloadable mobile app to safely scan and save a digital copy from anywhere, and either mail order copies to their door or print a copy at any KeyMe kiosk.

KeyMe has introduced new measures of security and control into key duplication and lockouts, services historically fraught with scams and unscrupulous emergency locksmiths. KeyMe provides accountability across the entire customer experience. For every key made, there exists a detailed transaction history, financial paper trail and fingerprint encryption at login. KeyMe provides a “closed loop” security trail with its technology.

A full list of kiosk locations can be seen atwww.key.me/kiosks

About KeyMe

KeyMe is fundamentally transforming how people access and manage their keys, providing a safe and convenient way to copy and share keys and solve frustrating lockouts. The company has smart kiosks in major retailers that can copy keys in under 30 seconds, as well as a mobile application that enables customers to safely scan and save a digital copy of their key and order copies shipped to their door. KeyMe was founded in 2012 by Greg Marsh, and is funded by 7-Eleven Ventures, Battery Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Providence Equity Partners, the Polsky Family Office, QuestMark Partners, Ravin Gandhi, and White Star Capital, among others.

KeyMe Kiosk is easy to use

To comment on this article and other GadgetGram content, visit our Facebook page, or our Twitter and Instagram feeds.

Previous articleSmartCam PT Review by Samsung
Next articleRowkin Pulse Headphones Review
David Novak
For the last 20 years, David Novak has appeared in newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV around the world, reviewing the latest in consumer technology. His byline has appeared in Popular Science, PC Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Electronic House Magazine, GQ, Men’s Journal, National Geographic, Newsweek, Popular Mechanics, Forbes Technology, Readers Digest, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Glamour Magazine, T3 Technology Magazine, Stuff Magazine, Maxim Magazine, Wired Magazine, Laptop Magazine, Indianapolis Monthly, Indiana Business Journal, Better Homes and Garden, CNET, Engadget, InfoWorld, Information Week, Yahoo Technology and Mobile Magazine. He has also made radio appearances on the The Mark Levin Radio Show, The Laura Ingraham Talk Show, Bob & Tom Show, and the Paul Harvey RadioShow. He’s also made TV appearances on The Today Show and The CBS Morning Show. His nationally syndicated newspaper column called the GadgetGUY, appears in over 100 newspapers around the world each week, where Novak enjoys over 3 million in readership. David is also a contributing writer fro Men’s Journal, GQ, Popular Mechanics, T3 Magazine and Electronic House here in the U.S.