Earlier this year, Fast Company‘s Mark Wilson wrote about Tovala, a smart oven-cum-meal subscription service that, he said, yielded surprisingly good food. Its main product is a $399 smart countertop steam oven, which you use to cook Tovala’s prepared meals–think a healthier version of a microwave dinner.
Today, Tovala announced a $9.2 million Series A round, led by Chicago-based VC firm Origin Ventures. Y Combinator also participated in the round–Tovala is an alum of the accelerator–as did Morningstar founder and executive chairman Joe Mansueto. (Disclosure: Mansueto owns Mansueto Ventures, which publishes Fast Company.) The new funding will go toward hiring and investing in product, marketing, and more.
“We’re challenging the assumption that people are just looking for an easier way to cook,” cofounder and CEO David Rabie said in a statement. “We think they want the option to not have to at all.”
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