Drop secures new funding to build the connected kitchen
The leading smart kitchen platform today announced $13.3 million in Series A1 funding and Alpha Edison is proud to have co-led the round
June 9, 2020
The world is moving towards intelligent, connected devices throughout the home and the kitchen is no exception. As appliances increasingly become connected, the cooking experience is being transformed. Consumers gain the ability to discover new things to cook and are guided through the recipe using their connected appliances. Drop powers the entire experience by integrating into the leading appliances and delivering consistent ease of use — for example, adjust portions or substitute ingredients — across a heterogeneous environment.
Drop is building an independent operating system for the kitchen that meets the needs of both the consumer and the appliance manufacturers. Brands get valuable customer insights and competitive differentiation, all while establishing a relationship with their customer that was never before possible. Interoperability is key and appliance manufacturers have a vested interest in adopting a common platform that will allow their products to work alongside one another in the kitchen ecosystem.
The kitchen is the heart of many homes, both a place to prepare and consume meals as well as to socialize and share. It has become the new living room and is the single most likely place where the entire family will gather. Still, it remains wide open without a single dominant player managing the connected kitchen. The kitchen appliance market is huge — it’s valued at over $200B across tens of millions of devices, the vast majority of which are disconnected from each other. As this ecosystem gains intelligence and connectivity, analytics will give device manufacturers insights into product engagement. With an intelligent kitchen, consumers will discover new recipes based on their cooking patterns and the specific devices they have in their kitchen.
We initially built a relationship with Ben Harris, Drop’s founder and based in Ireland, over video. This turned out to be fortuitous as the pandemic enforced a shift to video for most interactions. Ben’s passion for creating an entirely new meal preparation experience is truly inspiring. He is a product person at his core, with the insight and agility to lead Drop through a transition from innovative hardware to a cloud-based kitchen platform. This, combined with a high level of integrity and self-awareness has enabled Ben to attract a talented team. He has built partnerships with many of the leading appliance manufacturers worldwide and positioned Drop to lead the industry into a connected future.
Drop is well on its way to becoming the operating system for the kitchen. Doing so will enable them to unlock new businesses around meal planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation. We congratulate Ben and the entire Drop team for the amazing work they’ve already done and couldn’t be more excited about the journey ahead!
View Drop’s announcement here, and see more on the announcement here.