The Morning coffee machine
Morning, a coffee technology startup based in Singapore, announced today it has closed its pre-Series A round of investment at US$1.27 million, led by zVentures, the corporate VC arm of a leading global lifestyle brand for gamers Razer.
Other participating investors are Singapore-based The Lo & Behold Group, besides Zopim (acquired by Zendesk in 2014) founders Royston Tay, Wu Wenxiang, and Kwok Yang Bin.
The money will go towards strengthening Morning’s international expansion, according to a press statement.
Founded by Leon Foo and Andre Chanco, Morning aims to make specialty coffee more accessible in the home environment. The startup launched its IoT-enabled machine in 2020 using precision brewing features, combined with a recipe-driven ecosystem, to deliver every cup of coffee precisely as the roaster intended it to taste.
Morning also offers an online marketplace to showcase capsule coffees from the world’s leading roasters.
First introduced on Kickstarter, the Morning Machine claims to have reached its fundraising targets in 48 hours and sold out its first production run of 1,000 units within six months.
Morning has distributors in Hong Kong, Canada, and the UK.
Co-founder Foo said: “Both Morning and Razer share a vision for using technology to enable and elevate experiences and deep respect for sustainability and environment. We endeavor to draw from Razer’s expertise in hardware and technology to refine and perfect the Morning Machine and ecosystem for our customers.”
Cho Weihao, Investment Director at Razer, said: “zVentures identifies early-stage startups that lend value to the Razer ecosystem and helps nurture them into brands that our customers will appreciate. Coffee is a big part of our everyday lives, and we believe that Morning raises the bar for home coffee appreciation through the strategic application of technology.”
Also Read: Retrenched and dejected, this entrepreneur proved that a lot can happen over coffee
zVentures is an early-stage venture firm investing in seed and Series A startups globally that add strategic value to the Razer ecosystem. The fund provides its portfolio companies access to Razer’s extensive global network of suppliers, OEMs, customers, and investors. It also allows them to interface with in-house experts, like-minded founders, and influencers.
—
Image Credit: Morning
The post Morning raises US$1.27M in a round led by Razer’s VC arm to take its IoT-enabled coffee maker to global markets appeared first on e27.