Photo credit: Tovala

Tovala, a Chicago-based startup that makes smart ovens, has announced it’s raised $20 million in Series B funding led by venture capital firm Finistere Ventures, with participation from both new and existing investors including the likes of Comcast Ventures, OurCrowd, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Origin Ventures, and the University of Chicago. With the new funding, Tovala says it’ll grow its team and expand its production capabilities. Before now, Tovala is known to have raised nearly $19 million in funding, entailing the newly announced Series B adds up the company’s total funding to about $39 million.

Tovala notably launched in 2017 with a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company’s flagship product is a WiFi-connected oven capable of preparing pre-packaged meals also made by Tovala. Basically, Tovala sells pre-packaged foods alongside a custom oven to prepare them. Thanks to being WiFi-connected, Tovala’s oven is capable of baking and broiling to stipulated standards based on a custom QR code. Since its inception, Tovala says it’s shipped more than a million meal packs. The company’s funding notably comes in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic that has generally boosted business for meal kit services.

Amid a pandemic, Tovala says its annualized revenue has grown by an astounding 300% since September of last year. The company says its number of subscribers also grew more than 20% since mid-March when shelter-in-place orders were enacted across the US.

Finistere Ventures, which led Tovala’s Series B, has previously backed several well-known food-and-agriculture-centric companies including the likes of Plenty (indoor farming), Memphis Meats, and Farmer’s Fridge. The venture capital firm says it’ll work closely with Tovala’s team to help widen its reach across the United States, tapping on its expertise and experience in backing and helping grow food-centric companies to do so.