• Startup program dedicated to the "Future Home" and the "Smart Kitchen"
• Ten international teams start the program in Munich today
• Solutions range from a curator of online recipes to an automated grocery replenishment platform in the kitchen

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BSH Hausgeräte GmbH and Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, today launched the Future Home Accelerator Powered by Techstars in Munich, Germany. Once a year, startup teams from all over the world are selected to participate in the accelerator. The program focuses on the smart kitchen as the center of the "connected home."

For the first year of the program, out of hundreds of applicants from around the globe, 10 startups were selected. The internationally-staffed participating startups come from the United States, Great Britain, South Korea and Hong Kong to the corporate headquarters in Munich to develop hard- and software solutions for various challenges in the "Future Home" – including a curator of online recipes and an automated grocery replenishment platform.

The participants will be accompanied and advised by experienced mentors of the Techstars global network and of BSH Home Appliances decision-makers from departments that include: design, engineering and marketing, as well as experts from Home Connect, BSH's platform for connected devices and partners. For the duration of the 13-week program, the startups will work in a co-working space in Munich city center.

"The business models of this first class in the Future Home Accelerator Program show the relevant trends in the kitchen, which is the center of the connected home, and give us insights on which applications people will use in this area in the future. At BSH, we are inspired by the collaboration with these creative young companies which, in turn, will speed up our pace of innovation,” said Tibor Kramer, Venture and Accelerator Partner at BSH Hausgeräte GmbH.

The official start of the program was the 4^th of February. The program ends on the 9^th of May with a demo day event at which the startups present their refined business models to investors.

These are the first 10 start-ups of the BSH Future Home Accelerator:

Meal IQ (UK) - Intelligent meal planning and shopping
Meal IQ aims to help people fight long-term health conditions or nutritional intolerances through dietary intervention. Meal IQ is a service that makes it super-convenient for people with health conditions to plan and shop their meals in three clicks. AI is first used to read public internet recipes, then to create personalized meal plans in real time to fit users’ exact nutrition, diets, budget and taste preferences, and finally to shop the ingredients automatically via online grocery supermarkets. The service enables people to do their weekly shopping – with healthy options – in less than a minute.  www.getmealiq.com

ckbk (UK/USA) - The ultimate online tool for anyone who loves to cook
ckbk, headquartered in London, aims to become the go-to resource of cooking, offering users unlimited access to a curated collection of more than 100,000 recipes, videos and articles. ckbk’s service brings together the full content of hundreds of the world's finest cookbooks, and adds social sharing, recipe playlists, grocery orders, menu planning and smart kitchen integration to create the essential companion for any cooking enthusiast.  www.ckbk.com

YouAte (USA) - An effortless journaling approach to overcome emotional eating
YouAte empowers people impacted by emotional eating to eat better and feel better. YouAte helps them achieve this through self-awareness, self-diagnostics, and self-improvement. The approach is focused on tracking eating habits and associated emotions in an effortless, mindful, and non-judgmental way. Premium versions are available for both users and coaches.  www.youate.com

Rocky Robots (South Korea) - Healthier lifestyle with an accountability assistant
Regularly exercising and eating healthy requires a lot of discipline. Rocky Robots is developing a dialogue-based A.I. “Coach" which helps users to build better habits and routines while providing quantified behavioral data with personalized insights.  www.rockyrobots.com

Pantri (UK) - Grocery inventory management & automated re-ordering
Pantri is an automated grocery replenishment platform that aims to connect every smart appliance to every online grocery retailer across the globe. At launch, users will be able to connect their smart dishwasher to automatically re-order dishwasher tablets from a mail fulfiller. Pantri will then set about linking users’ connected coffee machine, refrigerator, or connected wine rack to their favorite online retailer.  www.pantri.net

WIFIPLUG (UK) - The smartest smart plug on the planet
WIFIPLUG is building a brain for large home appliances. It started as a fully voice assistant agnostic smart plug closely monitoring the consumption of appliances. WIFIPLUG recently built the first API-enabled smart plug delivering very detailed data to OEMs. Equipped with a WIFIPLUG, one could trigger automatic replenishment of dishwasher or washer tablets, transforming "not-so-smart" appliances into very clever ones.  www.wifiplug.io

Sensorscall (USA) - An AI device platform that enables well-being of seniors
Sensorscall is developing a multi-sensor, connected platform that enables aging in place and looks after the well-being of seniors in their everyday life. The device learns the pattern of daily habits and notifies caretakers of potential unusual events. It is completely unobtrusive with no camera or wearable. It also has a built-in voice communication and medical reminder feature. Installation is as simple as plugging it into a standard electrical outlet and 1-touch configuration using the app.  www.sensorscall.com

Qi Aerista (Hong Kong) - A fun, easy and smart way to brew tea perfect every time
The Qi Aerista Smart Tea Brewer lets today’s tea lovers brew any kind of tea to perfection right on their smartphone with a patented Aero-Brew multi-infusion system. It is the first and most versatile brewer in the world that can hot, cold & strong-brew your favorite teas easily including authentic HK-style milk tea with nine preset programs and fun-to-use app features. It is available now on the Qi Aerista online store and selected retail locations. www.qiaerista.com 

Inirv (USA) - Connected devices that make any kitchen smart
Inirv is building IoT devices that make existing kitchens smart in the fastest, most affordable way. Inirv’s first product makes any gas or electric stove smart through smart knobs that can automatically adjust burner temperature based on a variety of inputs. This opens up the opportunity for cooking automation, data collection and a deeper understanding of consumer behavior around home cooking and safety.  www.inirv.com

aimee (USA) - Make any refrigerator smart
The average smart refrigerator is quite expensive. For a fraction of the price, the aimee IoT device attaches to any refrigerator in minutes and allows users to automatically reorder groceries, be notified on expiring foods to reduce waste, see recipes based on what’s inside the unit, and see what’s inside the refrigerator while users are at the grocery store.  www.aimee.io

You can find further press materials from the press conference at the Newsroom: https://www.bsh-group.com/newsroom/. Find out the latest about BSH’s worldwide topics at http://stories.bsh-group.com.

About BSH
BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, with revenue of some EUR 13.8 billion in 2017 and more than 61,800 employees, is a global leader in the home appliance sector. BSH manufactures its products at around 40 factories and is represented by nearly 80 companies in approximately 50 countries. BSH is a Bosch Group company.

About Techstars
Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Techstars founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporations to grow their companies. Techstars operates three divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs, and Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,600 companies with a market cap of $18.2 Billion. www.techstars.com 

PRESS CONTACT

BSH
Debbie Ehrman
Finn Partners
Phone: 310-882-4016
Email: Deborah@finnpartners.com

Julia Henry
BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Head of Corporate Press, Public Relations
Phone: +49 (0)89 4590-5814
Email: Julia.Henry@bshg.com

Techstars
Ali Donnermeyer
Marketing Manager Accelerator Programs
Phone: +001 603.498.5965
E-mail: Ali.Donnermeyer@techstars.com