Making a smarter oven for busy people
Editor’s note: Here are five Bay Area startups worth watching this week.
In Matthew Dolan’s new book, “Simply Fish,” there’s a recipe for grilling salmon which instructs readers to “move the fish around every 30 to 45 seconds to avoid burning the skin and to evenly cook it.”
For less ambitious home chefs, technology promises a simpler answer. Matt Van Horn, the CEO of smart-oven maker June, said his company has created an oven so smart that the fish won’t need any babysitting.
The June Intelligent Oven can detect what you’ve just popped into the oven, and will heat up or cool down based on how you’ve indicated you want it cooked. It’s connected to your phone, so it can tell you when your food is ready. This countertop convenience comes at a steep price of $1,495 per oven.
“Forget everything you know about ovens and microwaves,” said Van Horn, who runs the the San Francisco company with co-founder Nikhil Bhogal. The smart oven is for “busy working professionals ... or people that want to geek out on the weekends, or for those on a busy Tuesday night who don’t want to order Postmates again,” he said.
June has raised $29.5 million and has 42 employees. It is probably trending this week because the company is getting
ready to release an update, about which Van Horn declined to offer specifics. The oven became widely available in March.
The device is part of a movement to make our kitchens smarter. As the food and tech industry continue to intermingle, we have a slew of kitchen gadgets to choose from — ranging from automatic tea machines to a robot-like tortilla maker.
But then there’s the seemingly useless, such as the Juicero — a $400 machine that squeezes cut vegetables into juice. The gadget had a brief wave of interest until Bloomberg revealed that the $5 to $8 juice packets could be squeezed by hand to yield the same result, rendering the pricey machine pointless. (The company said that the machine could detect whether a given packet had expired or been recalled.)
Van Horn said his smart oven has become an integral part of users’ lives: “Our customers get time back, and more time with family and friends,” he said. They’re “able to come in and offer a high quality piece of salmon or fish, when they would otherwise just order food in.” Also trending:
WaterSmart Software
What it does: A service for water utility companies. It allows households to analyze water consumption, and water companies to track potential leaks or locations where old meters are failing. Customers include San Jose Water Company and the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
What happened: Its leaders have been pitching investors to raise more funding.
Why it matters: As global warming accelerates and water pipes age in the United States, the stress on the water system is increasing. Analytics tools could be a way to get ahead of the problem.
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $13.35 million
Employees: 30
BitTorrent
What it does: A peer-to-peer file transfer technology maker that has been around for more than a decade. What happened: According to Rogelio Choy, the recently appointed CEO, BitTorrent plans to release new software this year.
Why it matters: As people become more conscious about cybersecurity, being able to securely transfer files is increasingly important. Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $35.75 million
Employees: 50
AutoGrid
What it does: Software for utilities and energy providers to manage energy sources including solar, wind and batteries on the electrical grid. The company has worked with PG&E, Austin Energy and the National Grid.
What happened: AutoGrid is preparing to announce a new partnership in Asia this week.
Why it matters: As policymakers and the energy industry come to terms with a limited global supply of fossil fuels, there’s a growing movement to reduce dependence on carbon by using nuclear or renewable energy. Keeping track of these energy sources can get messy, and utilities need help managing it all.
Headquarters: Redwood City
Funding: $40 million
Employees: 65
Euclid Analytics
What it does: Helps retail companies with physical stores understand customer behavior and trends.
What happened: CEO Brent Franson was quoted on news sites about Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods, which could be a reason behind the extra attention.
Why it matters: As online shopping is cutting into the need for physical retail space, it is important for companies to understand consumer behavior.
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $48.5 million
Employees: 40