Edyn debuts smart water valve to put home gardens on autopilot

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Oakland, Calif.-based Edyn started selling a new, smart gardening device this week: an Internet-connected water valve that lets users irrigate their gardens or lawns automatically.

The Edyn Water Valve uses data from the company’s Edyn Garden Sensor, a soil sensor, along with local weather systems, to adjust the moisture levels in the soil. If a user wants, they can adjust their irrigation systems via the Edyn smartphone app.

Sold for $69, the Edyn Water Valve weighs less than eight ounces, is solar-powered, Wi-Fi-enabled and fits a standard garden hose. The Edyn system was designed to be small enough for use with a hose that’s connected to a kitchen sink, and a window box garden if desired.

Recently, Edyn CEO and founder Jason Arumburu showed TechCrunch how the new water valve works at the STEM Kitchen & Garden, maintained by Farmscape urban agriculture, in San Francisco.

Edyn previously raised seed funding from Fenox Venture Capital, Idea Bulb Ventures, Morningside Group, Indicator ventures, Y Combinator, and was a Startup Battlefield finalist.

Other hardware makers, like Rachio Inc., Koubachi AG, iConservo Inc. and the drone-tech company Parrot, are offering competing products. But Edyn has gained traction in a crowded market for gardening tech.

Its products are sold at Home Depot stores, and the company will soon be adding new brick-and-mortar retailers, Arumburu said.