If we go by definition of ‘food tech’, then a intelligent oven called ‘June’ is a perfect fit. Never before in the history of food appliances, an innovation of such degree has been accomplished.
An Indian named Nikhil Bhogal is the CTO or Chief Technical Officer of this startup, and he earlier worked with Apple. CEO Matt Van Horn was earlier associated with Path, Digg and Apple. Other prominent members of this startup include ex-Google employees, GoPro employees and more.
Venture capitalists are apparently impressed with the idea and the concept as they have already received $22.5 million in venture capital fund led by Eclipse, which is a early stage investor of hardware and software startups.
Each unit of June intelligent oven is priced at $1500, which is certainly a steep price; but once a bachelor or a person who hates cooking gets to know the features, then it simply becomes irresistible.
USP of June intelligent Oven: Intelligent Cooking
June is equipped with an internal camera, which:
a) Identifies the food which is being cooked; and automatically adjusts the temperature, and other settings. Hence, all you need to do is put inside the food, and press OK button.
b) The camera live streams the cooking process into an app; which enables the user to witness the creation live. He can control the over using that app, while he is busy watching TV or playing outdoor games.
Some other USPs of this innovative oven includes:
- Heating architecture of the oven has been optimized, so that the heat is better distributed, broiling is better and baking is improved
- The right kind of plastic has been used as they have collaborated with specialized manufacturers for better performance
- Users can digitally plan their meals, as per the nutrition level, and cook seamlessly.
CEO Horn said, “You take the steak, put salt and pepper on it, put in the core temperature thermometer, plug [the thermometer] into the oven and keep the steak in the oven, and by the time the door is closed it’s smart enough to know that it’s a steak”
Depending on the weight of the ingredients and the actual food being put inside the oven, the device will automatically start cooking; and once it’s done, the end user will get a push notification.
Here are the technical specifications of this oven.
The shipping has been delayed as there were some issues related with manufacturing and procurement of materials.
As per reports, June would be delivered during Christmas/New Year and around 100 sample units have been sent for review and testing.