Drop Secures New Funding to Help Home Cooks Make Food More
Alpha Edison and Morpheus Ventures invest in the smart kitchen platform connecting appliance manufacturers to their customers
DUBLIN, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Drop, the leading smart kitchen platform, today announced $13.3 million in Series A funding co-led by Alpha Edison and Morpheus Ventures with participation from Act Venture Capital. The company is ushering in a new era for home cooking, in partnership with the world's biggest appliance makers like Instant Brands, Kenwood, and Panasonic. Drop believes it can unify the fragmented cooking experience by integrating appliances of all kinds with a recipe app that makes perfect cooking simple. Steve Horowitz, partner at Alpha Edison, and Ray Musci, managing director at Morpheus Ventures, will also join Drop's board of directors.
Horowitz led the engineering team that created Android and views Drop's technology as the foundation of the connected kitchen, providing an agnostic platform that allows every appliance in the kitchen to work seamlessly together. "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. The consumer experience will be enhanced dramatically to the benefit of everyone — people cooking at home and the appliance manufacturers."
The global home appliances market is valued at $200 billion. Big brands looking to secure loyalty and customer engagement find it hard to compete with hardware alone in a space that's being threatened by data-rich online marketplaces like Amazon. Expected to innovate quickly and cheaply, these companies work with Drop because they need a neutral partner with expertise in backend infrastructure and compelling software that can be accessed without the time and expense of in-house teams.
"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," said Ben Harris, CEO and co-founder at Drop. "Our platform marries your appliances and favorite recipes into a magical, connected, experience. Drop makes cooking so rewarding and easy that people choose to make food at home instead of just getting takeout, sparking joy in all of those homes."
Connected home is on the rise, and the kitchen shows the biggest potential for brands to work together through a platform that is appliance and brand agnostic. Drop's Kitchen OS connects all stages of the cooking journey, operating as a place where appliance manufacturers, recipe publishers and grocers can come together to inspire and guide everyday cooks at home. The experience gives home cooks consistent success and the most value from their appliances, while R&D teams receive never before seen information on how those appliances are being used.
"Consumers are looking for ease of use, less friction, and security," said Ray Musci, Managing Director at Morpheus Ventures. "The brands working with Drop drive engagement through a rich UX with data that informs better product development. Demonstrating value like that for both the consumer and manufacturer is how the connected kitchen will thrive."
For more information about Drop, please visit kitchenos.com.
About Drop
Drop is the leading smart kitchen platform specializing in recipe and kitchen appliance technology to connect the whole cooking journey. Over 100 different appliance models from brands like Bosch, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Instant Brands, Panasonic, Kenwood, LG Electronics and Thermomix can now be controlled from the Drop Kitchen OS platform and the Drop Recipes app at the center of it all. With offices in San Francisco, Dublin, Ireland, and Zaragoza, Spain, a love for great food is at its core. Each recipe and appliance partner added to the platform makes for an even stronger Kitchen OS, inspiring home cooks to make food more. To learn more visit https://kitchenos.com
About Alpha Edison
Alpha Edison is a knowledge-driven venture capital firm that invests in companies unlocking new markets. Using data and behavioral science, Alpha Edison uncovers the full potential of business model innovations and helps entrepreneurs make better decisions and expose latent demand as they scale their enterprise. For more information, visit www.alphaedison.com.
About Morpheus:
Morpheus invests in the disruption of large markets across the technology landscape from consumer to enterprise technologies including data analytics, machine learning, robotics, transportation, and SaaS. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles and backs great entrepreneurs worldwide. For more information, see www.morpheus.com.
SOURCE Drop
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