From Heatwaves to Headlines: Why This Startup Has the Industry’s Attention

Runwise co-founders (L-R) Jeff Carleton, Lee Hoffman and Mike Cook.

As this summer sets new heat records across the U.S., one startup is making a name for itself by solving a problem the real estate industry has ignored for too long: inefficient climate control in large buildings.

Runwise, a New York-based tech company, is quietly transforming how buildings manage heating and cooling — not with a new boiler or a better AC unit, but through smart, scalable infrastructure that actually thinks.

And it's already paying off.

In most commercial properties, systems run blindly. Thermostats are set centrally, regardless of whether certain areas are sweltering or freezing.

It's why office workers layer up in summer and sweat in winter — and why landlords bleed money on energy costs while still failing to keep tenants comfortable.

Runwise’s platform changes all that. It installs a network of wireless temperature sensors throughout a building — typically 20 to 25 in a 100,000-square-foot space — that feed real-time data into a central controller.

That system then uses predictive weather modeling and custom algorithms to make smarter decisions about when and how to activate heating or cooling.

“We’re literally throwing money away every time a boiler runs when it doesn’t need to,” said Jeff Carleton, Runwise’s co-founder and CEO. “It’s wasteful, it’s unnecessary, and worst of all, it doesn’t even make the building more comfortable.”

It’s not just talk. The system is already active in over 10,000 buildings across 10 states, with clients ranging from Equity Residential and UDR to public institutions like the MTA and the Port Authority.

Runwise claims to have saved more than $100 million in collective energy costs — and they’re just getting started.

The company recently announced a $55 million Series B, led by Menlo Ventures, bringing total funding to $79 million. Other backers include Nuveen Real Estate, MassMutual Ventures, Munich Re Ventures, Soma Capital, and Fifth Wall — a clear vote of confidence from institutional investors betting on the future of real estate efficiency.

Next up for Runwise? AI-powered infrastructure.

“As we continue to gather data from thousands of buildings, we’re training our models to get smarter and more accurate,” Carleton said.

“AI isn’t just an add-on — it’s the engine that’s going to make these systems predictive, not just reactive.”

In an environment where ESG mandates are tightening, energy prices are volatile, and operational efficiency is under the microscope, Runwise is more than just another proptech startup.

It’s a blueprint for what building management should look like in the decade ahead.

The bigger question now: how long before this becomes standard?