TL;DR:
- Clove, an AI-powered recipe platform, secures $4.15 million in seed funding.
- Led by Blackbird Ventures, the funding round includes participation from SHAKTI and industry leaders.
- Clove’s platform bridges the gap between home cooks and quality cooking information.
- It prioritizes recipe engagement based on cooking-related quality signals, departing from search engine algorithms.
- Free recipe discovery with options to purchase cooking products and access premium content.
- Co-founders Anna Guerrero and Sam Killin bring extensive experience from Canva.
- Clove aims to facilitate one billion recipes cooked worldwide.
- Investors believe in Clove’s potential for building a community-centered generational company.
Main AI News:
In a resounding success story for culinary tech innovation, Clove, a startup founded by two Canva veterans, Anna Guerrero and Sam Killin, has secured $4.15 million in seed funding. This impressive feat was led by Blackbird Ventures, with participation from notable investors such as US-based SHAKTI, as well as top executives and founders from renowned companies like Canva, Pexels, and Google Maps.
Clove’s innovative platform, fueled by a two-sided marketplace, promises to revolutionize the way we approach cooking. It caters to both seasoned home cooks seeking personalized recipe ideas and recipe creators aspiring to reach a global audience with their culinary creations.
The platform’s core mission is to eliminate the culinary quandaries faced by everyday home cooks and elevate the quality of cooking information accessible to all. Clove prioritizes recipe engagement based on cooking-related quality signals, breaking free from the constraints of search engine algorithms and social media trends.
Anna Guerrero, CEO of Clove and co-founder alongside Sam Killin, expressed their vision for the platform, stating, “Cooking is one of the few things we all need to do, but few of us are taught to do it well. Despite the universal need to make daily cooking decisions, there is a growing divide between busy cooks and the ease of access to quality cooking information. Rather than spending hours scrolling through recipes or figuring out how to make the most of what’s in your fridge, we’re incredibly excited to make cooking something millions of people feel confident about and look forward to.“
Clove’s recipe discovery feature will be available to users for free, with options to purchase cooking products and access premium recipes and AI-powered cooking tools. This approach opens up multiple earning opportunities for content creators.
Sam Killin, co-founder of Clove, highlighted the challenges faced by recipe creators today, emphasizing, “Many of the challenges with recipes today are directly related to the tools that creators have available to publish recipes, like blogs. They’re expensive, hard to use, and require creators to work very hard to get discovered, which results in a poor experience for creators and home cooks alike. We’re excited about the technology that’s available to make both publishing and finding recipes effortless, and we’re looking forward to making it available.”
Before co-founding Clove, Anna Guerrero spent eight years at Canva, culminating in her role as the company’s head of content and discovery, while Sam Killin led Canva’s marketplace engineering teams. Their collaboration began while working on Canva’s disruptive marketplace program, which played a pivotal role in the company’s ascent to over 100 million users across 190 countries.
Anna Guerrero shared her inspiration for Clove, which emerged during her time in Italy, including culinary school attendance and work as a pasta chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
With the newly secured seed funding, Clove is gearing up for an exciting beta launch. The company is focused on expanding its team, which already boasts talented engineers and designers from renowned companies such as Amazon Groceries and Milkrun. Clove has set an ambitious goal of facilitating one billion recipes cooked around the world.
Niki Scevak, Partner at Blackbird Ventures, expressed confidence in Clove’s founders, stating, “Anna and Sam bring a unique combination of well-honed creative thinking, skill, and ambition to Clove. They both have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a generational company with community at the heart, and we are proud and excited to back them.”
Conclusion:
Clove’s impressive $4.15 million seed funding signifies a transformative moment in the culinary tech market. By prioritizing cooking quality and accessibility over algorithm-driven metrics, Clove is poised to redefine how we approach cooking at home. The platform’s emphasis on user engagement and its potential to unlock multiple revenue streams for creators make it a promising venture. With seasoned founders and backing from industry leaders, Clove is well-positioned to disrupt the culinary tech landscape and foster a community-centered, generational company.
