Dublin start-up Drop aims to marry software to hardware in the kitchen, in a manner similar to how Android did it with smartphones.

Drop, a Dublin-based start-up developing smart-kitchen software, has raised €11.85m in its latest funding round.

The Series A funding round was led by Alpha Edison and Morpheus Ventures, with additional 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.

One of the backers was Steve Horowitz, one of the engineers behind Google’s Android operating system. Horowitz is a partner at Alpha Edison.

To date, the start-up has raised €20m in funding, following a €7m round in 2018 and a €1.5m round in 2015.

Drop’s technology

The start-up was co-founded by CEO Ben Harris in 2012 and now employs 42 people across offices in Dublin, San Francisco and Zaragoza. Harris’s mother, Elaine O’Hora is the founder of the Munchies chain of outlets in Dublin, while his father Peter Harris set up other restaurants and the courier company Pony Express.

Drop has created a solution 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 KitchenOS software will then provide users with the correct times, temperatures and settings to follow a recipe.

Drop can rewrite recipes to tailor them to the necessary number of portions or to adapt to the recipes that the user has to hand. It also allows users to convert their favourite recipes into a single format and store them all in one place.

Drop’s technology has been integrated into smart appliances made by companies such as Bosch, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Kenwood and Thermomix. These appliances range from coffee machines and blenders to ovens and air fryers.

The funding round

Drop plans to use the latest round of funding to increase its headcount and further develop its operating system.

According to Harris, the start-up has more than 1m users already. He hopes that the company can take advantage of the global home appliances market, which is estimated to be worth $200bn.

“By marrying your appliances and favourite recipes for a magical, connected experience, we can make home cooking so rewarding and easy that people will choose to make food at home instead of getting takeout,” Harris said.

Following the funding round, Android engineer Horowitz will join Drop’s board of directors along with Morpheus director Ray Musci.

Horowitz commented: “Drop is primed to be the platform that all brands operate on, fundamentally changing the way we use technology in the kitchen.”

From the comments made by Harris, it appears that the CEO is pleased to welcome Horowitz to the board. Harris said: “At Android, Steve and his team married software to hardware in a way that fundamentally changed the way people use technology, which is exactly what Drop is doing for the kitchen.

“Android wasn’t looking to build a new phone, but power those phones and devices people wanted to use. We are in a very unique position to take a page from that playbook and become the operating system for the smart-kitchen.”