Irish smart kitchen company Drop has announced that it has closed $8 million in Series A venture financing.
The round was led by Alsop Louie Partners, and includes investment from Irish company Frontline Ventures, Chapter One owner Ross Lewis, and Domini Kemp of Itsa.
Drop said the money will be used to continue development of Drop’s Kitchen'S platform for connected appliances in the smart kitchen of the future as well as to support the company’s partnerships with appliance manufacturers worldwide.
In 2017, Drop launched partnerships with Bosch and GE Appliances, making it possible for owners of connected ovens to control them straight from a recipe on the Drop platform.
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Adaptics Ltd, the Drop operating company, booked a net loss of €1.2m in 2016, bringing accumulated losses to €3.1m. Funding was categorised in the balnace sheet as a long-term liability, and the deficit in shareholders’ funds in December 2016 was €2.6m. The payroll overhead in 2016 was €900,000, up from €540,000 the year before.
Drop co-founder and CEO Ben Harris commented: “This investment will allow us to accelerate our trajectory towards becoming the de facto platform for the smart kitchen, empowering anyone to make delicious food at home.
“We found the perfect investor in Stewart Alsop and the team at Alsop Louie, who bring experience in growing global platforms such as Twitch. Stewart himself has a wealth of indispensable experience, leading NEA’s investment in TiVo and sitting on Sonos’ board for seven years.”
Stewart Alsop said he’s investing in Drop Kitchen because Harris and his team “have a real vision for how to transform the basic cultural experience of cooking and consuming food in the home, as well as making it more entertaining and engaging”.
Ross Lewis added “I have always known that smart technologies were going to become incredibly important in the kitchen — so much so that I built my own digital recipe system for Chapter One’s kitchen. When I saw Drop’s app, I knew it was the future and I wanted to integrate it into our kitchen here. I am working closely with the team to share my culinary expertise to guide all future developments, and look forward to adding recipes myself.”
Alsop Louie Partners is an early-stage technology venture firm based in San Francisco. The firm says it looks for outstanding entrepreneurs who want to start and grow companies that will be significant drivers of the next technology cycle, which it calls the Evernet. The firm was founded by Stewart Alsop, industry pundit and venture investor, and Gilman Louie, video game entrepreneur and cybersecurity investor.
The Drop app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play and has thousands of recipes from partners like Food 52 and Good Housekeeping, plus top chefs like Donal Skehan and Jessica Entzel.
