# Cala Systems, Inc.

Transforming home electrification by turning hot water into a thermal battery

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/cala.systems
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:190693
- Last updated: 2026-08-04T15:06:15Z
- Generated at: 2026-08-04T15:41:36Z

## Quick facts
- Intelligent water heater optimizing heating for each home to maximize comfort and savings
- Launched in Sept 2025, currently at $2M ARR on path for 5X annual growth in 2026 (not guaranteed)
- Shipping within continental US, powered by multiple granted patents and others filed
- 100+ contractors enrolled in Cala Pro Network, growing at 25/month
- $17B U.S. Water Heating Market; expanding into $100B+ across HVAC, home energy, and thermal storage
- VC-backed by Burnt Island Ventures, Mass CEC, CEVG, Leap Forward Ventures, and others
- Featured in Forbes, Tech Crunch, Yahoo!, CBS, Wirecutter, Undecided with Matt Ferrell, and more
- Led by startup and industry veterans from Bose, Mitsubishi, EnerNOC, SharkNinja, and others

## Story
Water heating is the last frontier of home electrification. It’s the second largest use of energy in American homes - accounting for nearly 20% of household consumption - and at 4% of US greenhouse gas emissions it contributes more than aviation. Yet the technology has remained largely unchanged in a century. About 46% of water heaters use electric resistance, the same tech in a toaster, while 47% burn natural gas and 6% use oil or propane.Cala Systems is redefining what a water heater can and should do with the introduction of our novel intelligent heat pump water heater (HPWH). Powered by patented predictive intelligence, Cala customizes operation for each home to ensure ample hot water at times of peak demand, lowers costs, and reduces emissions while coordinating with the home (e.g. solar, batteries) and variable electricity pricing too. Cala is bringing water heating into the modern age just as smart thermostats revolutionized home comfort.Cala is scaling amidst the rise of the smart home and the rapidly growing adoption of HPWHs, which are replacing inefficient electric resistance and fossil fuel water heaters. This market transition represents a $17B opportunity as nearly 10 million water heaters are sold annually in the U.S. alone.We’re backed by leading climate investors including Burnt Island Ventures, Mass Clean Energy Center, Clean Energy Venture Group, and Leap Forward Ventures. Our team is led by industry veterans from best-in-class brands including Bose, Mitsubishi, EnerNOC, ASICS, SharkNinja, and leading universities like Stanford, McGill, Dartmouth, and Boston University.Together, we’re driving the next era of energy efficient water heating with the ultimate goal of zero-carbon comfort.Future projections are not guaranteed and are subject to change.Cala launched in September 2025, shipping product from our 25,000 sq ft facility just north of Boston where it's designed and assembled. For the first 3 months we focused sales exclusively on the Northeast region before expanding across the rest of the continental US in early 2026.Cala’s sales trajectory is driven by a focused go-to-market strategy that scales through installers and partners. We work with upstream partners, like solar installers, to generate leads that we then fulfill directly or hand off to our contractor partners.In the first 8 months of sales, we’ve reached a $2M annual run rate selling to homeowners and via our Cala Pro network. This network has grown to over 100 installers since launch and is growing by 20-30 new contractors each month. To support this growth, Cala's facility is capable of producing more than 15,000 units per year, providing a clear path from early deployments to more than $50 million in revenue.Building on our successful launch in 2025 and starting to scale in 2026, we plan to reach $13M in revenue in 2027, $49M in 2028, and exceed $120M in 2029 as we add capacity to deliver on the promise of intelligent water heating as a key path for home electrification.Future projections are not guaranteed and are subject to change.Home water heating is a massive industry undergoing disruption as HPWHs transform home electrification and set the stage for Cala’s opportunity.10 million water heaters are sold in the U.S. every year - it’s an essential comfort, but one that’s often overlooked and which can be more expensive and energy intensive than homeowners realize. Consider that water heating is the second largest use of energy in the home - about 20% - and that an average family of four can pay over $700 on water heating costs alone to operate a traditional electric resistance water heater (based on national average electricity prices); in some areas of the country, that can easily exceed $1,000 per year.Consequently, homeowners are increasingly transitioning to HPWHs which use the same heat pump technology found in refrigerators and air conditioners. HPWHs cut energy use by 75% or more vs electric resistance because they move heat from the air into the water storage tank rather than converting electricity directly into heat. This results in efficiencies 3 to 5 times higher than traditional gas or electric systems. The result is significantly reduced operating costs with a lower carbon footprint to boot.Over 50% of US households use electric resistance, oil, or propane to heat their water - these homes will significantly reduce their energy use and save thousands over the lifetime of their water heater by switching to a HPWH. And for homes that use natural gas, the HPWH is the only cost-effective choice to enable home electrification.HPWH sales grew 35% from 2022 to 2023 (the last year data was publicly available) and are expected to become a $7B industry by 2030 powered in part by energy efficiency mandates going into effect in May 2029 (NAECA4). Additional growth is driven by powerful trends including:Rapidly rising energy pricesRising consumer preference for all-electric homesContinued growth of home solar and batteriesIncreased consumer and contractor awareness of HPWHsNumerous state and local policies, incentives, and rebatesFuture projections are not guaranteed and are subject to change.But getting HPWHs into homes is only half the story; the other half is what’s done with them once they’re installed. Today’s systems are designed to operate exactly like their predecessors have for a century: heat the water, wait for it to be used or cool down, then heat it again. There’s no optimization for each unique home to maximize savings or minimize energy use - one recent field study from Larson Energy Research found that traditional HPWHs use electric resistance for over a third of their total energy consumption. It’s a huge opportunity being left on the table.Additionally, many homeowners struggle to find a contractor that readily installs HPWHs. And, those installers that do embrace these systems often don’t receive the level of support they need from incumbent manufacturers, because HPWHs are a small fraction of the incumbent sales.Enter Cala.Cala is delivering a thoughtfully designed, intelligent HPWH that acts like a thermal battery. Just as an EV can charge when electricity is cheapest, solar is abundant, or the grid needs load shifted, Cala can “charge” up on hot water the same way. The potential’s been there for years but the industry is stuck on legacy tech.Unlike today’s “reactive” systems, Cala actually learns and adjusts to each home’s unique hot water rhythms, then optimizes water heating to deliver ample hot water during peak demand while minimizing costs and coordinating with other home energy systems like solar and batteries, too.Importantly, Cala is not just an appliance upgrade - it’s an intelligent system designed to continuously improve over time while still remaining simpler to use than today’s systems. Four factors make that possible:An integrated flow sensor that measures water use in real time, providing the insights needed to optimize heating for each home’s unique needsA variable speed compressor that can adjust its heating rate to run up to 25% more efficiently at low speedA mixing valve that enables the tank to store water at higher temperatures and increase the virtual capacity when advantageous, while still delivering safe and comfortable temperatures at the tapsCala Predictive Intelligence - based on an exclusively licensed patent from the National Laboratory of the Rockies; the controls live locally on the device, no Wi-Fi requiredTogether, these tightly integrated hardware and software elements behave as one system, enabling Cala to coordinate when, how fast, and to what temperature the water is heated while factoring in a home’s specific needs like hot water demand, solar production, variable electricity pricing, battery charge, and more.And, best of all, there are no confusing modes or temperatures to program - a constant painpoint for both homeowners and contractors who get frustrated trying to decipher the vague modes in today’s systems like “Eco”, “Hybrid”, “Balanced”, or “High Demand”. No one should have to think about their water heater, so Cala built the first mode-less water heater capable of autonomously managing tank temperature control. Simply set it up and go.The result for homeowners is a clear value proposition: a more effective, hassle-free water heater that automatically reduces their operating costs, lowers their carbon footprint, and coordinates with their home.But Cala doesn’t just benefit homeowners, it also provides professional installers with a best-in-class product, giving them a competitive advantage in their own businesses while providing high quality leads with upsell potential too. Moreover, Cala’s predictive controls, remote monitoring, and consistent hot water output help improve troubleshooting and reduce costly callbacks while giving installers greater visibility into system performance over time. The result is a more reliable experience and a product designed to work with - not against - the realities of field service.Water heating is an enormous market touching every American household. In the U.S. alone, 10 million water heaters are sold annually and the HPWH is expected to grow to as high as $7B by 2030.Cala’s vertically integrated capabilities in water heating, heat pump system design, manufacturing, advanced controls, and energy markets position it for entry into $100B adjacent markets across residential, commercial, U.S. and international markets in water heating, heating and cooling, the smart home, and distributed energy resources. Electrification and other trends are driving these categories together in ways that unlock enormous potential for connected, intelligent home energy products like Cala.The scale of what’s possible with the market is hard to overstate. If the country’s roughly 125 million water heaters were intelligent and grid-connected HPWHs, they would represent approximately 300 gigawatt-hours of flexible energy use per day — energy that could be shifted around the clock in response to grid conditions. That’s the equivalent of 140 hundred-megawatt data centers’ worth of highly controllable energy use. A fleet of connected water heaters doesn’t just save homeowners money; it is a continent-scale grid resource - a fleet of connected Cala units can enroll in VPPs or follow the continuously variable prices now under development in California and other states.Cala operates via three main revenue channels:“Cala Pro” Network: We generate homeowner leads through our marketing and then route them to Cala Pro Contractor installers. This removes critical friction points for homeowners, seeking a supportive professional for their HPWH installation, and it provides valuable leads to installers.D2C: selling our HPWHs directly to homeowners through our website. These customers work with their preferred installer or, in some cases, install the product themselves.B2B2C: Our trained Cala Pro Contractor installers source homeowner leads and sell Cala to them. We have 100+ Cala Pros enrolled and are growing the network at approximately 20-30/month.These sales pathways reinforce one another. Homeowner demand attracts new installers to the network, and leads delivered to installers increase engagement and accelerate adoption. Cala also receives demand from plumbers and contractors whose customers have specifically requested a Cala HPWH, often becoming those installers’ first introduction to the product.On the Cala Pro side of the equation, over a third of Cala Pros completed their first installation through a Cala-generated lead. And engagement deepens after the first install, with many Cala Pros increasing the quantity and or frequency of their repeat orders; some also co-market Cala to generate their own leads. These results demonstrate a powerful flywheel: homeowner demand pulls installers into the network, while installer engagement ultimately generates additional homeowner demand and independent Cala sales.In addition to hardware sales, Cala plans to generate recurring revenue through software-enabled services and managing our water heaters in rapidly growing electric grid programs (demand response, virtual power plants). These offerings will extend value beyond the initial unit sale.By building a vertically integrated business that designs, assembles, and sells our products in-house, we’ve built strongly defensible capabilities across hardware, software, manufacturing, and go-to-market. This depth of integration allows us to move faster, learn directly from customers, and deliver systems that will continue to generate revenue.Cala is strategically located at the intersection of massive, converging markets: water heating, heating and cooling, the smart home, and the electric grid.Cala’s integrated product design, manufacturing and go-to-market approach offer differentiated value to potential partners and future acquirers across these industries. Cala’s full stack capabilities include heat pump system design, manufacturing, end-to-end software development, advanced controls, sales, marketing, and energy system integration. As these markets become more interconnected over time, Cala is positioned to create value in ways single-point solutions cannot, making it a valuable target for partnership and/or acquisition.Future projections are not guaranteed and are subject to change.Cala has earned the support of VCs like Burnt Island Ventures, Mass Clean Energy Center, Clean Energy Venture Group, and Leap Forward Ventures among others, raising $15M to date to finance R&D, manufacturing, and initial launch.Notable publications such as Forbes, TechCrunch, The New York Times’ Wirecutter, and Undecided with Matt Ferrell have recognized Cala Systems as a breakout technology.Cala’s team is a seasoned group of hardware and software builders, with backgrounds at leading consumer hardware and energy companies such as Bose, Mitsubishi, EnerNOC, ASICS, and SharkNinja, as well as academic roots at top institutions including Stanford, McGill, Dartmouth, and Boston University.With deep expertise across consumer products, controls engineering, manufacturing, and energy markets, our team couples advanced predictive controls with rapidly-scaling real-world installations. CEO & Cofounder Michael Rigney is a 2x founder and climate and energy leader with over 20 years across EnerNOC (IPO), Gridco Systems, and EnergySavvy; he has raised $17M and led teams to $100M+ in revenue. Cofounder Mike Ting, VP of Hardware, is a hardware veteran with a dozen patents and over a decade building consumer products from proof-of-concept through launch at global leaders including Bose and SharkNinja.Collectively, our team has shipped and scaled consumer hardware products generating billions in sales, built software used by tens of millions of people, built factories and launched global product lines, and grown market share while launching category-leading products in electrification.Water heating is undergoing a generational technological and market transformation as HPWHs are recognized as an invaluable home electrification asset and increasingly take market share from electric and fossil fuel water heaters.At Cala we’re driving this transformation by delivering simply intelligent water heating that customizes for each home, each day to reduce operating costs, lower carbon footprint, and coordinate with homes.As we scale in 2026, we’re opening this investment round, inviting you to build the future of water heating and home electrification with us.Invest in Cala today and join us as we scale to fulfill growing demand, onboard more installers, and roll out additional home integrations.

## FAQ
1. **I understand how a heat pump gains efficiency by moving heat instead of directly generating it. However, if a heat pump water heater is installed in a conditioned space it seems that you are just passing the load to the house HVAC system. I guess it would help in the summer, b...**
   - Hi David - great question. First, over half of water heaters are in basements, garages and attics where this isn't a concern. So, from an investment perspective this isn't an issue. Where the HPWH is in the conditioned space, it is an economic benefit in a cooling dominant climate like the Southern U.S., just as you point out. In the north, the National Renewable Laboratory found that the benefits outweighed the additional costs. Cala also offers an accessory ducting kit such that the outlet ...
2. **Is the heat pump your own design or is it just purchased from an OEM and rebranded Cala? Where is it manufactured?**
   - Hi David - the heat pump is our own design while the components are purchased from a supplier. All final assembly happens at our HQ just north of Boston MA.
3. **As you are developing solutions in the circularity and green energy transition sector, I would like to introduce you to the Greentech Loan Program, designed for companies active in lifecycle sustainability and circular economy initiatives.Whether you are a start-up launching a...**
   - Thank you, Joanne, we'll reach out to that email address.
4. **Hi, had a few questions as I'm reviewing this: - Can you share whether existing institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing, and whether this Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional round or a separate community allocation? - What is yo...**
   - Hi Josef, thanks for these questions: - Yes, our institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing. This includes Burnt Island Ventures, MassCEC and others - The Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional financing (Seed II) - As expected for a hardware business at launch, gross margins are around zero. Gross margin scales rapidly with sales volume: 13% at only 2,500 units per year, 18% and 5,000 units per year, and 42% at 50,000 units per year. Note that these...
5. **A few additional questions below: As of when (what date) is the company on track for 8x sales growth? Is that a current projection based on YTD numbers? What’s the biggest bottleneck to growth today? If you doubled the sales effort/team tomorrow would Cala grow much faster or ...**
   - Hi Yosef -- The biggest bottleneck to growth is capital, which is common for a company at our stage. We've validated the go-to-market, performance, and reliability and understand the specific growth actions that take us from the current revenue rate to $10-20 million p.y. You're correct that adding sales team is one of the most important growth actions. We currently have three and will grow to 8 over the next year. Related to this point, the 8X sales growth is a projection from May and is dep...

## Team
- Michael Rigney (CEO & Cofounder)
- Mike Ting (VP of Hardware & Cofounder)
- Greg Hosselbarth (VP of Sales)
- Sandrine Mangia-Park (VP Marketing)
- Phil Connaughton (VP of Software)
- Pete Loveless (VP of Manufacturing)

## Q&A
- Q: I understand how a heat pump gains efficiency by moving heat instead of directly generating it. However, if a heat pump water heater is installed in a conditioned space it seems that you are just passing the load to the house HVAC system. I guess it would help in the summer, but be bad in the winter. Maybe it should have separate modes in the heating and cooling season and have both an inside and outside heat exchanger to pick from.
  - A: Hi David - great question. First, over half of water heaters are in basements, garages and attics where this isn't a concern. So, from an investment perspective this isn't an issue. Where the HPWH is in the conditioned space, it is an economic benefit in a cooling dominant climate like the Southern U.S., just as you point out. In the north, the National Renewable Laboratory found that the benefits outweighed the additional costs. Cala also offers an accessory ducting kit such that the outlet air can be ducted to another area in the home if localized cooling is a comfort concern.
- Q: As you are developing solutions in the circularity and green energy transition sector, I would like to introduce you to the Greentech Loan Program, designed for companies active in lifecycle sustainability and circular economy initiatives.Whether you are a start-up launching a pilot project, a growth-stage company expanding operations, or a proven technology business or joint venture seeking capital to reach commercial scale, we can structure flexible financing solutions tailored to your business needs.For more information about our low-interest loan programs and the application process, contact us by email on: loan@clefinanceplc.com
  - A: Thank you, Joanne, we'll reach out to that email address.
- Q: Is the heat pump your own design or is it just purchased from an OEM and rebranded Cala? Where is it manufactured?
  - A: Hi David - the heat pump is our own design while the components are purchased from a supplier. All final assembly happens at our HQ just north of Boston MA.
- Q: A few additional questions below: As of when (what date) is the company on track for 8x sales growth? Is that a current projection based on YTD numbers? What’s the biggest bottleneck to growth today? If you doubled the sales effort/team tomorrow would Cala grow much faster or is another constraint more important? What do you think is the single biggest risk that could prevent Cala from becoming a $1B+ company over the next 5-10 years? Finally, what is the expected closing date for the Wefunder round? Thanks
  - A: Hi Yosef -- The biggest bottleneck to growth is capital, which is common for a company at our stage. We've validated the go-to-market, performance, and reliability and understand the specific growth actions that take us from the current revenue rate to $10-20 million p.y. You're correct that adding sales team is one of the most important growth actions. We currently have three and will grow to 8 over the next year. Related to this point, the 8X sales growth is a projection from May and is dependent on when we make additional investments in sales and marketing. We expect to see 4-5X growth in 2026 at the current level of sales and marketing spending. Our view is that the biggest risk to becoming a $1B+ company is rate of HPWH market growth. This is higher over a five-year horizon than a ten year one as the macro trends are powerful (electrification, rising prices, consumer expectations for intelligence). We expect to do well in a slower growth scenario, too, because our product resonates so well with early adopters: pro-technology, pro-electrification, more educated. The expected closing date is approximately Labor Day.
- Q: Hi, had a few questions as I'm reviewing this: - Can you share whether existing institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing, and whether this Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional round or a separate community allocation? - What is your current gross margin and how you expect margins to improve as production scales? - You mention 100+ contractors in the Cala Pro network. Approx. how many have placed repeat orders, and what percentage of recent sales come from repeat contractors versus first time customers? Thank you.
  - A: Hi Josef, thanks for these questions: - Yes, our institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing. This includes Burnt Island Ventures, MassCEC and others - The Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional financing (Seed II) - As expected for a hardware business at launch, gross margins are around zero. Gross margin scales rapidly with sales volume: 13% at only 2,500 units per year, 18% and 5,000 units per year, and 42% at 50,000 units per year. Note that these percentages are GAAP so they include manufacturing overhead; contribution margin is higher - Because we assemble the product ourselves, we have a step-by-step understanding of the steps required to improve gross margin and we are able to do so rapidly. We have 10+ cost-down initiatives underway now - 10% have placed repeat orders and 56% of recent Pro Sales come from repeat sellers. However, the Cala Pro Contractor network is young and growing rapidly, which makes the repeat selling % above lower for now. We track the progression of contractors through training, selling first unit, and selling repeat units -- and what we're seeing here is a consistent ability to mature contractors to selling Cala. For example, seven contractors will sell their first Cala unit in July.