• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to navigation
Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Connect
    • Custom Events
    • Slack
    • RSS
    • Send us a Tip
  • Advertise
  • Consulting
  • About
The Spoon
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Advertise
  • About

Markov Issued Patents For A Smarter Microwave Oven

by Michael Wolf
June 27, 2018June 28, 2018Filed under:
  • Around The Web
  • Connected Kitchen
  • Robotics, AI & Data
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

A few months ago, The Spoon discovered how then-stealth startup Markov corporation was looking to use AI to make a better microwave. This past week, we’ve discovered the company has since taken significant steps towards locking up some intellectual property that could help them do just that.

Since the spring, the company has quietly began to talk about their oven – the Level – which essentially is exactly what I predicted back in March:  a smarter electronic oven which uses computer vision and other forms of machine learning to better apply energy. And just this in the past two weeks, the company, which counts eBay founder Pierre Omidyar as an investor, was awarded the two patents that originally tipped their hand.

As I wrote in March:

According to the first patent application entitled “Electronic oven with infrared evaluative control“, the company has developed technology for a control system that utilizes infrared camera sensors to assist in the cooking process. The patent application describes how they plan to use an infrared camera as part of a learning and control system that will more evenly apply heat as compared to a more traditional microwave oven.

This patent application appears to be related to another a patent application from the company founders called “Electronic oven with reflective energy steering“, which describes a way to use RF/microwave energy to more precisely and evenly apply the heat within the cooking chamber.

Markov’s technology looks like a significant upgrade to traditional microwaves, which suffer from uneven heating due to their inability to apply electromagnetic waves consistently across cooking zones for the duration of the cooking session. By using AI to better steer the electromagnetic energy more precisely, users will get better results.

Based on my original sleuthing, I had found the company had indicated it had raised an initial $20 million in funding.  According to this May article in the Wall Street Journal, the company has since raised its total funding to $25 million.

While Markov is currently offering demos of the Level, it has yet to reveal pricing for the oven.

You can see the a hero reel of the Level in action below.


Related

Scoop: Omidyar Invests in Markov, A Startup Building An AI To Change Cooking

Last week we learned about Spero Ventures, a new $100 million investment fund that had been spun out of the Omidyar Network. According to Forbes, the new venture fund has eBay founder Pierre Omidyar as its sole limited partner and counts a company called Markov as one of its first…

BSH Appliances Patents Camera-Enabled Microwave Oven

While microwave ovens still can't be turned into cameras, it turns out cameras may be making their way inside of microwave ovens. That's because BSH Appliances recently was issued a patent for just that: a microwave oven with a camera for observing food inside the cooking chamber. The patent, issued…

Markov Rolls Out Hot Pantry Food Service, A ‘Google Cafeteria’ in a Box

Let's face it: Not every company is a Google when it comes to profitability, technology prowess or lunch. Wait, lunch? Yep. Google's food program has become the gold standard in the tech world and beyond for its healthy choices and focus on sustainability, and has played an outsized role over…

Get the Spoon in your inbox

Just enter your email and we’ll take care of the rest:

Find us on some of these other platforms:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
Tagged:
  • cooking
  • future of cooking
  • Markov
  • microwave

Post navigation

Previous Post Fexy Media Launches Relish to Make (All) Recipes Scalable, Saveable and Shoppable
Next Post Bartesian Ships to Kickstarters this Week, Backers Will Get Two Machines

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get The Spoon in Your Inbox

The Spoon Podcast Network!

Feed your mind! Subscribe to one of our podcasts!

The Grocery Store is the Food System
Nearly Seven Years After Launching Kickstarter, Silo Finally Delivers Next-Gen Home Food Storage System
What Flavor Unlocks
Starbucks Unveils Green Dot Assist, a Generative AI Virtual Assistant for Coffee Shop Employees
Impulse Announces Its Battery-Integrated Cooktop Becomes First Certified to Applicable UL Safety Standards

Footer

  • About
  • Sponsor the Spoon
  • The Spoon Events
  • Spoon Plus

© 2016–2025 The Spoon. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.