Mumbai: Tinychef, which counts celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor among its co-founders, has acquired Indian food-tech startup Zelish for an undisclosed amount.
A Techstars accelerator and Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances backed company, Zelish was founded two years ago by Rakesh Edavalath, Saakshi Jain, and Arpit Joseph. By acquiring Zelish, Tinychef will also gain access to the app’s 125,000 users and approximately 35 per cent of whom are monthly active users.
The coming together of these two AI-powered companies will give them a distinct edge. Zelish gives Tinychef a powerful app with a highly engaged user base. Similarly, this alliance also gives Zelish a chance to integrate with Tinychef’s voice-assisted, Alexa-enabled, hands-free cooking universe. Tinychef now aids everything from automatic meal planning to one-click grocery shopping, voice-guided cooking and the use of connected appliances.
“We’re really excited about this acquisition as it will help us take the Zelish experience into the world of voice-assisted cooking," Zelish co-founder Saakshi Jain said. "With Tinychef in the picture, users can look forward to a completely hands-free experience. We are looking forward to the Zelish app spreading across the Indian sub-continent and growing its presence globally in the North American market as well.”
Zelish co-founder Rakesh Edavalath added, "We are thrilled to expand the vision of our tech-first platform Zelish to become a voice-guided assistant thanks to Tinychef. Most people who manage the kitchen complain that there is a constant back and forth between operating their phones and managing the said tasks. People will soon be able to relish the Zelish experience on voice assistants like Alexa instead of going back and forth on recipe videos. ”
Meanwhile, Tinychef already has over a million users and over 100,000 active monthly users in India and within a month of its launch, it has garnered over 25,000 users in North America with the bulk of the user base belonging to the US and Canadian markets.
“As a pioneer in voice-first solutions on smart speakers for consumers in the kitchen, adding smartphones was the natural next step for us so that we become truly a ‘device agnostic’ smart kitchen assistant," Tinychef co-founder Bahubali Shete said. "I am really bullish that we will make Tinychef the default kitchen assistant for every kitchen around the world.”
Sanjeev Kapoor added, "I have always tried to impact kitchens in India and across the world with simple and healthier recipes and tips that households appreciate. I am looking forward to seeing kitchens across the world get even simpler with these two wonderful brands combining into something even more powerful."
Tinychef currently has a user retention rate of 40 per cent and going forward this acquisition is projected to help the app achieve MoM Growth of 70 per cent.
