Lumio
Lumio is a San Francisco-based designer hardware company, founded in 2012 by Max Gunawan, that creates transformable sculptural home objects — book lamps, Bluetooth speakers, desk lamps, and folding furniture — sold direct-to-consumer and through 200+ premium design retailers in 30 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Lumio does
Lumio is a San Francisco-based designer hardware company founded in 2012 by Max Gunawan that creates kinetic, sculptural home objects distinguished by transformable form factors. Its core products are the Lito book lamp (a wooden cover with Tyvek pages that opens 360 degrees to reveal embedded LEDs and magnetic mounts), the Teno kintsugi-inspired Bluetooth speaker and lamp with touch-gesture controls, the Ovo seesaw-balanced portable desk lamp, and the Otto folding lounge chair with interchangeable cactus leather panels. Technically, the products rely on precision mechanical engineering — hinged book architectures, seesaw balance mechanisms, and folding joints — rather than AI or software platforms; connected features are limited to standard Bluetooth 5.0, TWS stereo pairing, and USB-C charging.
Lumio operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model (hellolumio.com) with duties-inclusive worldwide shipping, complemented by distribution through 200+ premium design retailers across 30 countries, including MoMA Design Store, The Conran Shop, Lane Crawford, SFMOMA, National Gallery of Art, and MCA Chicago. Revenue is generated from one-time hardware sales priced between $200 and $1,250, plus a B2B customization service with a 60-unit minimum that has served MoMA, Museum of the Future, Veuve Clicquot, Bonpoint, and Conran. The company is privately held, founder-owned, operates as Lumio, LLC in California, and has not disclosed external institutional funding.
Lumio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lumio
- Legal name
- Lumio, LLC
- Website
- https://hellolumio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lumio is a San Francisco-based designer hardware company, founded in 2012 by Max Gunawan, that creates transformable sculptural home objects — book lamps, Bluetooth speakers, desk lamps, and folding furniture — sold direct-to-consumer and through 200+ premium design retailers in 30 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lumio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Designer Home Lighting & Furniture
- NAICS
- Residential Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335131), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (3351)
- SIC
- Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640), Miscellaneous Furniture & Fixtures (2590)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lamps Retail (Table, Floor, Desk) (CRAIAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Decorative Hardware & Home Accents Retail (House Numbers, Hooks, Knobs/Pulls, Mailboxes) (CRAIACAJ)
Keywords
Where Lumio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lumio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Direct Product Sales: Lumio generates revenue through direct-to-consumer sales of designed home objects and furniture. Products include portable book lamps (Lito, Lito mini), desk lamps (Ovo), Bluetooth speakers (Teno), and lounge chairs (Otto). All products are sold as one-time purchases with free worldwide shipping included in the retail price for most destinations.
- B2B Customization & Bulk Orders: Lumio offers customization services for corporate clients, museums, and hospitality brands. Minimum quantities start from 60 units for custom Lito book lamps with options including leather finishes, laser engravings, embossing, and branded designs. Previous clients include MoMA, Museum of the Future, Veuve Clicquot, Bonpoint, and Conran.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Otto Founder Edition Lounge Chair - $1,250 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Ovo Portable Desk Lamp - $375 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Teno Sculptural Speaker & Lamp - $325-$350 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lito Classic Book Lamp - $250 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lito mini Portable Book Lamp - $200 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lito Limited Edition Collaboration - $200-$225 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Lito Accessory Kit - $25-$30 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Charging Cables - $7.50-$8 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lumio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lumio designs, manufactures, and sells portable, sculptural home objects that combine kinetic form factors with functional utility. Its current product line includes the Lito book-shaped portable lamp (Classic, mini, and Limited Edition artist collabs), the Ovo seesaw-inspired portable desk lamp, the Teno kintsugi-inspired Bluetooth speaker with integrated lamp, and the Otto folding lounge chair with cactus-leather upholstery. Products are sold primarily direct-to-consumer through hellolumio.com and through 200+ premium design and museum retailers in 30 countries, with a B2B customization program for corporate and hospitality clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lito Classic Book Lamp The original portable book-shaped wooden lamp that opens to 360 degrees to cast light in all directions; designed for design-conscious consumers seeking portable, ambient, or reading illumination in home, travel, or hospitality settings.
- Lito mini Portable Book Lamp A compact, pocket-sized portable book lamp that doubles as a power bank for charging phones on the go; designed for travelers, design-conscious gifting, and small-space users.
- Lito Limited Edition (Artist Collaborations) Limited-edition collaborative versions of the Lito mini book lamp featuring exclusive artwork from artists and brand partners such as SFMOMA, MoMA, Superfiction, and Seiji Matsumoto; targeted at collectors, museum gift shops, and design-led gifting.
- Ovo Portable Desk Lamp A portable, interactive desk lamp inspired by a seesaw that pivots between task and ambient lighting; designed for home offices, bedside reading, and design-conscious consumers.
- Teno Sculptural Bluetooth Speaker & Lamp A Bluetooth speaker and lamp combined in a kintsugi-bowl sculpture, with touch-sensitive gesture volume control and automatic TWS stereo pairing between two units; for design-conscious consumers seeking sculptural audio and ambient lighting in one object.
- Otto Founder Edition Folding Lounge Chair A premium folding lounge chair with interchangeable cactus-leather panels and a 5-year structural warranty, designed to deliver generous seating in compact urban spaces while folding into a sculptural form when not in use; aimed at small-space urban dwellers.
- B2B Customization & Bulk Orders A customization and bulk-order program that produces branded, custom-finished Lito book lamps for corporate gifting, museum merchandise, and hospitality décor clients (minimum 60 units).
- Lito Accessory Kit An accessory bundle for the Lito Classic book lamp that adds a custom micro-USB charging cable, magnetic wooden mounting pegs, and a leather hanging strap; sold as a standalone item to Lito owners.
- Replacement Charging Cables Replacement charging cables compatible with the Teno, Lito Classic, and Lito mini, sold as standalone replacement parts.
Quantifiable outcome
- 200+ retailers in 30 countries
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Lumio
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Lumio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Lumio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)flagshipMoMA Design Store serves as a flagship retail partner for Lumio products, featuring Lito lamps in their curated design collections. Collaboration includes custom artwork editions such as the 2017 Richard Woods artist design collaboration featuring silk screen printed fabric.
- Museum of the FuturecoreDubai-based Museum of the Future collaborated on custom Lito designs in 2022, featuring Arabic calligraphy using black oil printing on black fabric.
- Veuve ClicquotcoreLuxury champagne brand collaborated on custom Lito designs in 2016 featuring iconic Veuve Clicquot yellow with logo UV printed on wood.
- BonpointminorFrench luxury children's fashion brand collaborated on Lito mini designs in 2018 featuring iconic Bonpoint cherry pattern gold foil stamped on off-white fabric.
- ConrancoreMultiple collaborations from 2017-2019 including custom leather material with embossed logo, San Francisco cityscape illustration UV printed on fabric, Conran Telenseu design, and Noma Bar artist design collaborations.
- SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)flagshipSFMOMA collaborated on Lito mini limited edition featuring San Francisco cityscape illustration in 2022. SFMOMA Museum Store also serves as ongoing retail partner.
- ColetteminorIconic Paris concept store collaborated on Lito classic in 2016 featuring classic Colette blue and white fabric with logo UV printed on spine.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Lumio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pablo Designs: San Francisco-based premium designer lighting and audio brand known for minimalist, sculptural LED lamps. Directly comparable in target customer (design-conscious consumers), premium pricing, and form-factor-driven product strategy.
- Fatboy: Dutch design brand offering portable lamps (Edison the Petit, Transloetje) and playful lifestyle furniture. Comparable in playful-form-factor approach, premium design-object positioning, and global multi-channel distribution.
Broad incumbents
- Flos: Italian heritage designer lighting manufacturer behind iconic pieces like the Arco and IC lights. Operates in the same premium designer-lamp category but at much larger scale and broader portfolio across residential, commercial, and architectural.
- Artemide: Italian premium lighting manufacturer known for the Tizio and Tolomeo. Competes in the same design-conscious consumer and architectural-lighting space with a much broader catalog and global commercial footprint.
- Tom Dixon: British designer brand spanning lighting, furniture, and home objects with a sculptural, material-driven identity. Comparable in founder-led design language and premium positioning; broader category reach (lighting + furniture + accessories).
- Louis Poulsen: Danish heritage lighting brand (PH lamps, AJ family) sold through premium design retailers and museum stores worldwide. Comparable distribution channel and design-object positioning with deeper catalog and institutional presence.
- Hay (Danish design house): Danish contemporary design brand offering lighting, furniture, and accessories. Comparable in design-object distribution through MoMA and museum stores; broader portfolio and significantly larger scale.
- &Tradition: Danish design house producing lighting and furniture with Scandinavian design heritage. Comparable in premium positioning, museum-store distribution, and kinetic/convertible furniture concepts; broader and more established catalog.
Emerging players
- Menu (by Menu Space / Audo Copenhagen): Scandinavian design brand offering minimalist lighting, furniture, and accessories. Comparable in design-led identity and premium museum-store distribution; emerging player relative to incumbents with narrower portfolio overlap.
- Gingko Electronics: UK-based design brand producing sculptural, tech-infused home objects including click-clock wooden timepieces and portable lamps. Comparable in form-factor-driven design objects, premium gifting positioning, and direct-to-consumer + specialty retail mix.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lumio social profiles
Digital presenceLumio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lumio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lumio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lumio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lumio
What does Lumio do?
Lumio designs, manufactures, and sells portable, sculptural home objects that combine kinetic form factors with functional utility. Its current product line includes the Lito book-shaped portable lamp (Classic, mini, and Limited Edition artist collabs), the Ovo seesaw-inspired portable desk lamp, the Teno kintsugi-inspired Bluetooth speaker with integrated lamp, and the Otto folding lounge chair with cactus-leather upholstery. Products are sold primarily direct-to-consumer through hellolumio.com and through 200+ premium design and museum retailers in 30 countries, with a B2B customization program for corporate and hospitality clients.
Is Lumio a public or private company?
Lumio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lumio founded?
Lumio was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lumio based?
Lumio is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lumio make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Direct Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are B2B Customization & Bulk Orders.
Who are Lumio's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pablo Designs and Fatboy. Broad incumbents are Flos, Artemide, Tom Dixon, Louis Poulsen, Hay (Danish design house) and &Tradition. Emerging players are Menu (by Menu Space / Audo Copenhagen) and Gingko Electronics.
Does Lumio have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lumio.
What industry is Lumio in?
Lumio's product category is Designer Home Lighting & Furniture. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAIAHAE, Lamps Retail (Table, Floor, Desk), with a secondary code of CRAIACAJ, Decorative Hardware & Home Accents Retail (House Numbers, Hooks, Knobs/Pulls, Mailboxes). Its NAICS code is 335131 and its SIC code is 3640.