mui Lab

Based in Kyoto, mui Lab, Inc. operates at the intersection of technology and design, championing the concept of "Calm Technology." The firm was established on October 27, 2017, as a corporate venture from Nissha Co., Ltd., and became fully independent through a management buyout in May 2019. This initiative was led by co-founder and CEO Kazunori Oki, who, alongside his team, sought to address the intrusive nature of modern technology by creating interfaces that integrate serenely into living spaces. This philosophy is inspired by the Taoist idea of "mui shizen," which translates to being in harmony with nature without effort.

The company's core offering is the mui Platform, a proprietary system that combines a patented touch-sensitive wood display with an IoT cloud backend. Its flagship product, the mui Board, is a smart home interface crafted from natural wood. When activated by touch, a minimalist display appears on the wood's surface for controlling smart home devices, checking weather, or leaving messages; when not in use, the display vanishes, leaving what appears to be a simple piece of wood. The business model is twofold: a direct-to-consumer (B2C) approach for its own products like the mui Board, and a business-to-business (B2B) model that involves licensing its patented hardware and software technologies and providing UX/UI design consulting. The company targets markets such as smart homes, automotive, and workplaces, collaborating with major firms like Wacom, Mitsubishi Estate, and LIXIL.

mui Lab's journey includes several key milestones, starting with a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018 that raised over $110,000. This was followed by a CES Innovation Award in 2019 for the first-generation mui Board. The company secured approximately $2 million in funding in October 2019 from investors including Energy & Environment Investment and Monozukuri Ventures. Subsequent developments include joining the Connectivity Standards Alliance to ensure Matter protocol compliance for its devices, launching the second-generation mui Board, and forming strategic business alliances to expand its presence in the smart home and energy management sectors.

Keywords: Calm Technology, smart home, IoT interface, user experience design, wooden touchscreen, B2B licensing, patented technology, home automation, interaction design, consumer electronics