Weber acquires smart oven maker June

Scherzinger explained that the purchase will allow the grill company to accelerate its “connected innovation programs”. Plus, by bringing June’s expertise in smart cooking, the company will help better support grills and pit masters with products and services that deliver simple yet powerful cooking solutions.

“We have a huge list of opportunities ahead of us,” he continued. “For Weber, it integrates a complete connected operating system platform in-house with a team of these amazing software engineers and experts in connected product design and artificial intelligence in our company.

For June, the culinary startup now has access to Weber’s infrastructure, resources and expertise, which open up a plethora of possibilities around the world. In other words, June will have the opportunity to evolve her devices and technology in ways she probably wouldn’t have on her own. Weber says its stature as a global company will also allow June to “broaden the roadmap for future product and technology development.”

As you might have guessed, the June brand is not going anywhere. Following the acquisition, it will exist as a “strategic business unit” within Weber. Co-founder Matt Van Horn will serve as president of June while the other co-founder of the company, Nikhil Bhogal, will become senior vice president, technology and connected devices of Weber. Van Horn will continue to focus on June Oven while Bhogal will work with Weber’s R&D programs and new products.

“Probably the best direction we could have taken for a partner for our operating system would have been to go to a large oven company,” Van Horn explained. But he said the “energy” of the June meeting with Scherzinger and Weber chairman Jim Stephen left a lasting impression. Weber ultimately led a Series C funding round for the smart kitchen startup.

“It challenges us to think bigger in many ways,” Scherzinger said. “I think it speeds up what we can do in the market in terms of bringing new experiences or new services to light within the platform.”

Weber is already working on new features featuring June’s technology available on his products, and while June remains focused on the US for now, he recognizes the world of opportunities that lie ahead.