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With fresh funding, Drop will further develop its connected kitchen platform.
Drop, a Dublin-based start-up developing smart-kitchen software, has raised €11.85m in its latest funding round.
The Series A funding was led by Alpha Edison and Morpheus Ventures, with participation from Dublin-based Act Venture Capital. Existing investors Alsop Louie Partners, Richmond Market Ventures and Digital Irish Angels also returned to the latest round.
Alpha Edison partner Steve Horowitz, who was one of the engineers behind the development of Google’s Android operating system, said that Drop could “fundamentally change” the way technology is used in the kitchen.
To date, the start-up has raised around €20m in funding, after a €7m round in 2018 and a €1.5m round in 2015.
Drop’s technology
Drop was co-founded by CEO Ben Harris in 2012 and now employs more than 40 people across offices in Dublin, San Francisco and Zaragoza.
Drop has created a platform that enables home cooks and bakers to connect their favourite recipes with smart appliances in their kitchens. Once users connect their smart appliances to their Drop profile, the platform will adjust the recipes based on the owned appliances.
The app’s Kitchen OS software will then provide users with the correct times, temperatures and settings to follow a recipe, or adapt it for a specific number of portions. It also allows users to convert their favourite recipes into a single format and store them all in one place.
This technology has been integrated into smart appliances made by companies such as Bosch, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Kenwood and Thermomix. Connected appliances range from coffee machines and blenders to ovens and air fryers.
Funding and expansion
Drop plans to use the latest funding to increase its headcount and further develop its operating system, according to the Irish Times.
Harris said that the start-up has more than 1m users already and hopes to can take advantage of the global home appliances market, which is estimated to be worth $200bn.
“Kitchens need Drop — they are a mix of motors, sensors and heating elements, with wildly different interfaces and recipes written in a hundred-year-old format,” Harris said. “Our platform marries your appliances and favourite recipes into a magical, connected experience.”
Alpha Edison’s Horowitz and Morpheus director Ray Musci will now join Drop’s board of directors. Horowitz, who led the engineering team that created Android, said Drop’s technology could be the foundation for the connected kitchen.
“In the same way Android armed an industry to compete in the smartphone game, Drop is primed to be the platform that all brands operate on, fundamentally changing the way we use technology in the kitchen,” he added.
“The consumer experience will be enhanced dramatically to the benefit of everyone — people cooking at home and the appliance manufacturers.”
