We have some exciting news to share. Apollo Automation has been named one of KY Inno's 22 Startups to Watch for 2026 by Louisville Business First. The award was presented on March 5, 2026 at the Ice House in Louisville, Kentucky, and we are genuinely honored to be recognized alongside some of the most exciting early-stage companies in the state.
This kind of recognition means a lot to a small team from Versailles, Kentucky that started assembling sensors in a basement just a couple of years ago. We don't take it for granted, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way.
Thank You to Holly and Kyle
A special thank you to two members of our team who represented Apollo at the event. Holly Wilson, our shipping and fulfillment lead, and Kyle Raley, our operations lead, attended the ceremony and accepted the award on behalf of the company. Kyle also stepped up to the mic and gave a speech representing Apollo in front of founders, investors, and ecosystem partners from across Kentucky. We couldn't be more proud of both of them for representing everything Apollo stands for in that room. They embody the spirit of this company every single day, and this was their moment as much as ours.
What Is the KY Inno Startups to Watch Award?
KY Inno's annual Startups to Watch recognition is published by Louisville Business First, the region's leading business journal, and highlights early-stage Kentucky and Southern Indiana companies that are poised to make significant moves in the coming year. Honorees are featured in both the Louisville Business First print edition and online through KY Inno, and are selected from across the entire state.
This year's class of 22 honorees represents communities from Lexington to Paducah to Louisville and beyond, spanning industries from biotech and healthcare to marketing, agriculture, and technology. The event is supported by KY Innovation, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC), LG&E and KU Energy, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Amplify Louisville. Past honorees have gone on to close major venture capital raises, land spots in coveted accelerator programs, and scale their companies well beyond Kentucky's borders.
Being named to this list as a hardware and manufacturing company from Woodford County feels particularly meaningful. Apollo Automation was built in Versailles, not in a tech hub, not with outside funding, and not by following a traditional startup playbook. We're proud to represent what's possible in Central Kentucky.
What Apollo Automation Does
For those who are new to us: Apollo Automation designs, engineers, and manufactures privacy-first smart home sensors right here in Versailles, Kentucky. Everything we build is assembled in-house by our small team, and every product ships with a commitment to local control, open-source software, and zero cloud dependency.
Our product lineup includes:
- MSR-2 mmWave Multisensor - The smallest fully integrated presence sensor we've made, using 24 GHz mmWave radar to detect occupancy even when someone is completely still
- MTR-1 Multi-Target Radar Multisensor - Tracks up to three targets simultaneously across configurable detection zones
- AIR-1 Air Quality Sensor - Monitors PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, VOC Index, NOx Index, CO2, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure using the Sensirion SEN55
- R PRO-1 PoE mmWave Multisensor - Our professional-grade dual-radar sensor with true 802.3af Power over Ethernet support
- TEMP-1 / TEMP-1B Temperature Sensor - Versatile smart temperature monitoring with probe support for fridges, grills, aquariums, HVAC, and more
- PLT-1 / PLT-1B Plant Sensor - Smart indoor plant monitoring with capacitive soil moisture, lux, UV, temperature, and humidity sensing
- PUMP-1 Fluid Pump Controller - A food-safe smart pump for automated plant watering, aquarium management, and more
- BTN-1 Modular Macro Deck - A hot-swappable mechanical button controller with modular expansion for smart home automation and media control
- M-1 LED Matrix - A 4096-pixel HUB75 display with built-in WLED-MM controller for visual notifications, ambient lighting, and real-time data displays
Every Apollo product is built on ESPHome firmware and designed for deep integration with Home Assistant, the world's most popular open-source smart home platform. Our devices work locally over Wi-Fi with no cloud connection, no data collection, and no monthly fees. Your smart home data stays in your home.
What We've Accomplished
We're proud of how far this company has come in a short time, and we think it's worth sharing some of what has made us who we are today.
Certifications and Partnerships
Apollo Automation became the first ESPHome-based manufacturer to join the Works With Home Assistant program, initially certifying the MTR-1, MSR-2, and AIR-1 in February 2025. We have since expanded that certification to include the R PRO-1, TEMP-1, TEMP-1B, PLT-1, PLT-1B, PUMP-1, and BTN-1. Our entire product lineup also carries Made For ESPHome certification, and our sensors are Works With Homey certified as well.
In December 2025, we became the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation, a Swiss non-profit that owns and protects Home Assistant, ESPHome, and over 250 other open-source smart home projects. As part of that partnership, Apollo co-founder Trevor Schirmer serves as a rotating board member of the foundation. A majority of our profits from licensed products go directly to funding the Open Home Foundation's work.
Manufacturing and Growth
What started as two co-founders assembling sensors on weekends in a Versailles basement has grown into a dedicated manufacturing facility with a six-person team, all based in Central Kentucky. We design, engineer, assemble, and ship every product in-house. No outsourcing. No overseas manufacturing. Every Apollo sensor is made here.
We have shipped products to customers on every continent and established distribution partnerships across the EU, with representation at IFA Berlin 2025, one of the world's largest consumer electronics shows. We are actively working toward expanded EU manufacturing to serve our growing international community.
Community and Industry Recognition
Apollo Automation was built by and for the Home Assistant and ESPHome communities. We share our firmware and CAD files openly on GitHub, engage directly on Discord and Reddit, and run monthly community livestreams. The feedback loop between our team and our users has shaped every product we've built.
Our sensors have been reviewed and recognized by leading smart home publications and channels including SmartHomeScene, Make It Work Tech, and Jakkuh, and we are consistently ranked among the top products in our categories across the Home Assistant ecosystem. The MSR-2 and MTR-1 were both selected for Homey's Best Buy Guide for smart presence sensors.
We also completed the Awesome Inc fellowship program in 2025, which provided invaluable mentorship and business development support that helped us grow into the company we are today.
Giving Back
Our H-2 Holiday Ornament charitable initiative, where 100% of profits support CASA of Lexington and the Open Home Foundation, has raised over $4,000 for those causes. We believe that building a successful company and doing meaningful good in your community are not mutually exclusive, and we plan to keep proving that.
Our Mission and Where We're Going
Apollo Automation's mission has never changed: deliver high-performance, locally-controlled smart home hardware that respects your privacy, works without the cloud, and never holds your data hostage. In an industry increasingly dominated by surveillance capitalism and subscription lock-in, we believe there is a better way, and we're building it.
Looking ahead, we are focused on expanding our Works With Home Assistant certified lineup, growing our EU manufacturing and distribution capabilities, developing the first official ESPHome-branded hardware as part of our Open Home Foundation partnership, and continuing to build products the community actually wants.
We are a small team. We work hard, we listen to our users, and we care deeply about what we make. The KY Inno Startups to Watch recognition is a reminder that what we're building here in Versailles matters, not just to the smart home community, but to Kentucky's broader innovation ecosystem.
Thank you to KY Inno and Louisville Business First for this recognition. Thank you to Holly and Kyle for representing Apollo with such grace and enthusiasm. And thank you, as always, to the Home Assistant and ESPHome community whose support made all of this possible.
We're just getting started.
Apollo Automation designs, engineers, and manufactures privacy-first, locally-controlled smart home sensors in Versailles, Kentucky. All products feature 100% local control with no cloud dependencies or subscriptions required. Apollo is a Works With Home Assistant partner, Made For ESPHome certified, Works With Homey certified, and the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation. Learn more at apolloautomation.com.
