Astro
Techstars '14New York City, US · 11 known investors
New York-based consumer electronics startup behind Twist, a smart LED bulb with a built-in wireless speaker.
Also known as Astro, Inc. · Twist · Twist Home
Investors · 11
Also in the syndicate · 3
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries BMay 2022
Accel (lead), Citius (lead), Tiger Global (lead), AC Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital India
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Astro, Inc. is a New York-headquartered consumer electronics company founded in 2014 that developed Twist, a combined lighting and audio product. Twist is an all-purpose light bulb that integrates a WiFi-enabled wireless speaker with a smart LED, intended to provide both light and sound from a standard bulb socket in each room of a home.
The bulb offers self-adjusting, color-temperature-controlled light designed to mimic natural daylight tones, mixing 2700K (warm white) and 6500K (cool white) output. The speaker is housed inside the bulb in a high-temperature-protected polycarbonate frame. The design is hubless and wireless, supports AirPlay, and can connect across multiple speakers. A company profile describes Astro as working in home automation, mobile device and wireless technology fields, and attributes a portfolio of 197 patents to the company.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Astro positions Twist as a consumer smart home product combining premium audio and lighting in one bulb; development research included teardowns of competing bulbs.
Technology
Twist combines an LED light engine with an embedded WiFi audio speaker and Bluetooth control in a single bulb form factor. The electrical architecture uses four stacked PCBs allowing compact, modular assembly and the later addition of other functionality, together with AC-to-DC power conversion and a heat sink with conductive bond for thermal management. The LED band sits at the tip of the globe so the speaker does not obstruct light output, delivering the equivalent of a 60-watt bulb at at least 800 lumens while drawing 10 watts, with a stated 15-year LED lifespan. Two antennas are required for the WiFi and Bluetooth/AirPlay radios and had to be routed outside the metal bulb housing while preserving the bulb silhouette. Astro maintained an electrical engineer in-house and worked with product development firm Tomorrow Lab on industrial design, product architecture, mechanical and electrical engineering, design for manufacture, firmware and prototyping. Patent-portfolio classification associates the company with home automation, mobile device and wireless technologies.
Go-to-market
Consumers outfitting homes with lighting and audio, across both loose table and floor lamps and fixed fixtures.
Geography
Headquartered in New York, United States.
History
The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York. Product development work on the Twist bulb with Tomorrow Lab is dated 2015, spanning industrial design concepting, product architecture and mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Twist lights and speakers were subsequently offered for sale.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsAstro worked with product development firm Tomorrow Lab on industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, design for manufacture, firmware and prototyping for Twist, a light bulb combining a WiFi speaker with a smart LED; Twist lights and speakers were made available for sale.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Astrohellotwist.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Astro do?
- New York-based consumer electronics startup behind Twist, a smart LED bulb with a built-in wireless speaker.
- Who are Astro's investors?
- Astro's investors include Expansion Venture Capital, Techstars, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Global Founders Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LOWERCARBON, Tiger Global Management.
- Where is Astro headquartered?
- Astro is headquartered in New York City, US.