Scherzinger explained that the purchase will allow the grilling company to expedite its “connected innovation programs.” What’s more, bringing June’s smart cooking expertise in house will help the company better assist grillers and backyard pitmasters with products and services that offer simple, but powerful cooking solutions.
“We have a tremendous slate of opportunities in front of us,” he continued. “For Weber, it brings a complete connected OS platform in house with a team of these amazing software engineers and experts in connected product design and machine intelligence into our company.”
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For June, the culinary startup now has access to Weber’s infrastructure, resources and expertise, which open up a host of possibilities around the world. In other words, June will have the opportunity to scale its devices and technology in a way it probably wouldn’t have on its 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’ve guessed, the June brand isn’t 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 company’s other co-founder, 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 R&D programs and new products.
“Probably the best direction we could have gone on a partner for our operating system would have been to go to a big oven company,” Van Horn explained. But he said the “energy” in June’s meeting with Scherzinger and Weber chairman Jim Stephen left a lasting impression. Weber eventually lead a Series C round of funding for the smart cooking startup.
“It challenges us to think bigger in many respects,” Scherzinger said. “I think it accelerates what we can do in the marketplace in terms of bringing new experiences or new services to light inside the platform.”
Weber is already at work on new features featuring June’s technology available on its products, and while June remains focused on the US for now, it acknowledges the world of opportunities that lay ahead.
