After making a highly awaited appearance on Season 3 of Shark Tank, upliance.ai, the innovators behind India’s first AI Cooking Assistant, are set for an ambitious 2024. Their goals include achieving a 10X growth, targeting a revenue of INR 150 crores. Additionally, they plan to ramp up production to 20,000 units annually within the next 6 months.
The D2C home appliances brand, spearheaded by former Ather Energy and Chaayos executives Mahek Mody and Mohit Sharma, unveiled their flagship product, upliance, on the show. Pioneering as one of the world’s first cooking appliances integrated with ChatGPT, upliance seamlessly merges top-notch hardware and software innovations. Since its launch in 2023, upliance has skillfully prepared over 35,000 delightful meals in Indian homes. The live cooking demonstration of “Kadai Paneer” on Shark Tank showcased upliance’s automated cooking, chopping, and stirring features before the judges. Despite rejecting an offer from Peyush Bansal, CEO of Lenskart, upliance.ai effectively highlighted their innovation on the show.
The global smart kitchen appliances market, valued at $18.75 billion in 2023, is poised for significant growth, with a projected CAGR of 17.9% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is fueled by factors like the rise in single-person households, increased disposable income, smart home adoption, online purchases of compact household appliances, and a growing demand for intelligent and interconnected home devices. These trends are particularly relevant in India, given its youthful population and expanding middle class.
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Recognizing this potential, upliance.ai has developed an innovative device tailored to diverse demographics. In 2023, the product experienced remarkable sales, selling out its stock by August with nearly zero marketing expenses. Demonstrating a robust market presence, upliance.ai has sold around 800 devices, maintaining a consistent 40% month-on-month growth. Notably, August 2023 revenue reached INR 26,00,000, reflecting an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) exceeding INR 3 Crore – all of this within just 8 months of beginning deliveries.
Mahek Mody and Mohit Sharma, the Co-Founders, shared their thoughts on their Shark Tank experience, stating, “We are grateful for the Shark Tank journey. It served as an exceptional platform, allowing us to showcase upliance on a national platform. With upliance.ai already selling out through positive word of mouth, we anticipate a substantial surge post-show, leveraging newfound exposure and our owners’ community to grow in the coming year. As we reflect on the market response, we are extremely proud that 60% of our sales have been driven by our existing owners who are passionate about what we are building and believe in our vision of the future of Indian homes. Peyush Bansal’s offer goes beyond mere endorsement for us; it symbolises recognition of our product’s value and potential by a respected business leader, fortifying our position as innovators in the smart kitchen industry.”
upliance.ai’s groundbreaking AI Cooking Assistant revolutionizes home cooking, advocating that everyone should have the ability to cook, regardless of their culinary skills. With a demonstrated track record of saving nearly INR 50,00,000 on takeout orders, upliance empowers owners to effortlessly prepare healthy home-cooked meals. Priced at INR 23,999, the integrated weighing scale ensures precision, positioning it as a worthwhile daily cooking investment—an appealing alternative to dining out or relying on external assistance.
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This versatile device replaces over 10 kitchen appliances, consolidating 16 cooking functions into one intelligent ‘upliance.’ With a valuable first-mover advantage, upliance has integrated generative AI to dynamically generate recipes from various sources on the internet and convert them into algorithms for automatic cooking. Featuring voice control, ChefGPT, and AI-powered grocery management, upliance.ai seamlessly blends convenience with food science, customizing the cooking experience to individual tastes and preferences.
After a successful stint on Shark Tank and securing backing from notable investors like Rainmatter, Rukam Capital, and Draper Associates, upliance.ai is on track to emerge as India’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) hardware startup through a significant expansion initiative. The blueprint includes ramping up manufacturing capabilities, expanding its reach to 20-25 cities, and establishing a strong presence in over 10,000 stores across India, supplemented by the creation of 30 company-owned experience centers. This strategic vision signals the next phase of upliance.ai’s journey within the dynamic and innovative home tech solutions sector.