Start-up nabs $2m seed funding for connected kitchen scale

Drop, a Dublin-based start-up which has created an iPad-connected kitchen scale that guides users through recipes, has raised $2 million in seed funding.

The company will use the funds to expand its engineering, customer support and community teams. It will also increase its marketing activities.

"We've had a great response to the pre-order campaign we launched in the summer," said Drop co-founder and CEO Ben Harris.

In the race to the connected home, Mr Harris said the kitchen has been mostly overlooked. He said that Drop’s connected kitchen scale is the first in a series of kitchen products that the company will tie into its new, interactive recipe platform.

The funding round was led by Frontline Ventures and Innovation Works, with additional investors including PCH, Vegas Tech Fund and WI Harper Group.

“The explosive growth of the Internet of Things speaks to consumers’ desire for the devices in and around their home to have the smart behaviour and personalised, interactive content that connectivity brings,” said Chris Evdemon, a partner with Innovation Works.

The Drop scale senses that an ingredient has been added to the bowl. Bakers are automatically guided step-by-step through hundreds of recipes, from simple cookies to more complex pastries and pastas.

The Bluetooth-connected digital scale automatically adjusts recipes if you’re short an ingredient. Thus, if the recipe calls for four large eggs but you only have three, it’s no problem. Place three eggs on the Drop device, hit “scale recipe” and all the ingredients update exactly.