Futuristic Pod-to-Meal Startup Raises $10 Million

Israeli food tech company Genie Enterprise Ltd. announced on Tuesday a $10 million Series A funding round led by Carl Marks Securities LLC, the broker-dealer affiliate of Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC.

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Founded in 2014, Genie develops and markets smart ovens, which the company says can cook restaurant-grade meals in 2-3 minutes from pods containing freeze-dried foodstuff. Genie also markets the meal pods, made from fresh, dried ingredients without preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorings, or additives.

The Genie ovens scan a barcode on the meal pod and cook each meal in a designated sequence of actions such as heating, cooling, microwaving, and steaming.

Genie launched commercially in Israel in 2017 and targets businesses and government entities such as coffee chains, hotels, and hospitals. The company operates a pod-filling facility in northern Israel. “Convenience, speed, and healthy eating are demanded by today’s lifestyles and we developed the Genie food system to solve these demands by providing real, natural, delicious food quickly and easily,” Ayelet Carasso-Sternberg, CEO of Genie, said in a statement.

In a statement, the company said it would use the funding to establish operations in the U.S. Initially, Genie will offer a selection of eight meals in the U.S., including pasta Bolognese, chicken with broccoli in an Alfredo sauce, oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, and molten chocolate lava cake.