Tesla investor, Zerodha founder invest in a smart ‘upliance’ that can chop, stir and cook

• The startup closed its pre-seed round at a total of $1.3 million.
  
• Tesla’s investor Tim Draper was also an early participant in the company’s pre-seed funding round.
  
• The funds will be utilised to execute the go-to-market strategy of the company’s first ‘upliance’- delishUp.

Bengaluru-based consumer hardware startup Up, previously known as React Labs, has raised $500,000 from Rainmatter led by Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath, in a pre-seed funding round. It raised a total of $1.3 million in the pre-seed funding round.

Apart from Kamath, the startup received investments from co-founders of Ather Energy, Unacademy and the Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India. Tesla’s investor Tim Draper was also an early participant in the company’s pre-seed funding round.

Founded by Mahek Mody and Mohit Sharma, the startup has designed a smart ‘upliance’, delishUp. The device features a touch screen with unlimited in-built guided recipes, coupled with a jar which heats and cooks, and offers controlled chopping, stirring and other culinary functions.

The recently raised funds will be utilized to execute the go-to-market strategy of its Made in India device, delishUp. The startup aims to make cooking healthy, easy and accessible for millennials and Gen-Z.

“Everyone knows the best way to manage your health is to eat home cooked food, and with this new funding we are looking forward to taking delishUp to consumers across the country. Most other services available in the market focus on the exercise or ‘calories out’ options, but nearly none of them are offering users the superpower to take control of ‘calories in’,” said Mahek Mody, co-founder and CEO at Up.

The device has been tested in over 250 Indian homes and kitchens and will begin deliveries in December this year. Consumers from the brand’s beta testing program also turned into mini-angel investors, the company said.

With this device, the company claims that people with no experience in the kitchen can also cook without any hassle.

The company says that the recipes on the ‘upliance’ have been designed in-house, taking into account ingredients that are easily available and their nutrition. It also has the macros and calories calculated for all meals. The connected features offer unlimited recipes, and added functions like grocery shopping, menu planning and more.

“The next generation of smart and connected innovation will be designed to elevate the quality of our domestic lives. The next generation of smart and connected devices for the world will be built in countries like India and by the upcoming generation of hardware startups,” said Siri Srinivas, principal investor, Draper Associates.

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