Service area
Smart Home and Private AI Installation in the San Francisco Bay Area
Kotoh Home installs private AI home assistants and smart home systems across the San Francisco Bay Area, set up for planned power shutoffs, earthquake readiness and households that care where their data goes.
Two risks the region plans around
The first is earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates a 72 percent probability of at least one magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake somewhere in the San Francisco Bay region before 2043. The last major one, the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, killed 63 people, and liquefaction heavily damaged San Francisco's Marina District.
The second is power. PG&E began a series of Public Safety Power Shutoffs in the Bay Area on October 9, 2019, cutting power ahead of high winds to keep its lines from starting wildfires. Those 2019 shutoffs initially affected around 800,000 customer accounts and grew to more than 3 million people across California as other utilities followed. Shutoffs are planned, so you usually get warning, but if you're traveling, the house still has to manage on its own.
What we set up for Bay Area homes
- Leak detection and an automatic water shutoff. After a quake, or any day, a broken supply line becomes a text and a closed valve instead of a flooded floor.
- Power and battery awareness. The hub and network on battery backup, alerts when the power drops and returns, and whether your home battery or generator took over during a shutoff.
- An earthquake checklist on demand. Text "earthquake" and the assistant confirms door and power status, reports any leak or smoke alerts from compatible sensors, and walks you through what to check by hand, including where the gas shutoff is. We don't automate gas valves; seismic gas shutoffs are a job for a licensed plumber.
- Family check-ins through the household's messaging, so everyone can report in from wherever they are.
- A network built for privacy and reliability. Smart devices on their own network, away from work laptops. See network and security.
For households that care where their data goes
If you know how mainstream assistants work and would rather not have one listening on behalf of a cloud service, this is the point of Kotoh Home. It runs open-source models, never OpenAI, Google or Amazon. Our guide to whether Alexa is always listening explains what mainstream speakers actually send, and the private AI home assistant page lays out both of our options side by side.
How a travel install works
Kotoh Home is based on the East End of Long Island and in Miami. We don't keep an office in the Bay Area; we come to you. It works in three steps:
- Video walk-through. A free call where you show us the house, the network closet and the devices you already have. We agree what the assistant should handle and give you a fixed price.
- Install day. We fly in, set up the hub and your private AI, secure the network, connect your accounts and devices, and show everyone in the household how to text it.
- Care from a distance. Updates, monitoring and new routines happen remotely under your care plan. If something ever needs hands on site, we quote the trip first.
Travel is billed at cost and quoted with the project, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Private by design
Every install puts a smart-home hub in your home that runs your devices and routines locally, so they keep working when the internet doesn't. With Private Home, the AI runs on a dedicated computer in the house that you own, and your household details never leave it. With Private Cloud, it runs an open-source model on a private server we operate for you in a U.S. data center, with no conversation logs kept and nothing sent to OpenAI, Google or Amazon; the AI chat pauses during an internet outage while the hub keeps the house running. For the most privacy-conscious, and for a house that has to ride out a shutoff with the internet down, Private Home is the stronger choice. Messages travel through Apple's or Meta's encrypted networks depending on the app you use, and connected accounts like email and calendars stay with their providers. More in our guide to local vs cloud AI assistants.
Getting started
Book a free video walk-through through the form or at hello@kotohhome.com. You'll get a fixed price before any work: Private Cloud from $4,995 or Private Home from $24,995, plus travel at cost. Care plans are $199 a month for Private Cloud, including your private AI server, or $399 for Private Home. We also travel to Los Angeles and Malibu.
Common questions
Do you have an office in the Bay Area?
No. Kotoh Home is based on the East End of Long Island and in Miami. For San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and the East Bay we start with a video walk-through, then fly in for install day, and travel is quoted at cost with your project.
Can it shut off the water or gas after an earthquake?
It can close a smart water shutoff valve automatically when leak sensors detect water, or when you tell it to. Gas shutoff is different: seismic gas valves are mechanical safety devices installed by a licensed plumber, and we don't automate them. The assistant can remind you where the gas shutoff is and what to check.
What happens during a PG&E power shutoff?
The hub and your network run on a battery backup, so you get an alert when the power drops and when it returns, plus whether a home battery or generator took over. With Private Home the assistant keeps working inside the house; with Private Cloud the chat pauses until the internet returns.
Why choose a private AI instead of a mainstream assistant?
Mainstream assistants send what you say to the company's servers. Kotoh Home runs an open-source model either on a computer in your home (Private Home) or on a private server we operate for you (Private Cloud), with nothing sent to OpenAI, Google or Amazon.
What does it cost?
Private Cloud starts at $4,995, plus a $199-a-month care plan that includes your private AI server. Private Home, with a dedicated AI computer in the house that works fully offline, starts at $24,995, with care at $399 a month. Estate projects are quoted individually, and travel is quoted at cost.