Ember\u2019s first Indiegogo<\/a><\/span> campaign drew sideways glances when it launched in 2015. Would anyone actually buy a $129 heated coffee mug? Nearly a decade later, however, it\u2019s clear that the initial pitch was merely the tip of the startup\u2019s heating\/cooling iceberg.<\/p>\n TechCrunch recently sat down with Clay Alexander, the firm\u2019s founder and chairman, to take a deep dive into Ember\u2019s history \u2014 and catch a glimpse of where things are headed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re well over 3 million units [of the smart mug] at this point,\u201d the executive tells TechCrunch. \u201cWe\u2019re nearing a million units a year now. When I first created this technology, I had so many people in my life say, \u2018oh Clay, you\u2019ll never sell a $100 electronic coffee mug. You\u2019ve lost your mind.\u2019 As a founder, you just have to have perseverance, and you have to have this gut instinct that overpowers logic.\u201d<\/p>\n The first prototype of the Ember mug was a Frankensteinian prototype involving a Zojirushi mug<\/a> and a bunch of electronics. Image Credits:<\/strong>\u00a0Ember<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beyond the company\u2019s better-known coffee receptacle, Ember has made a foray into the medical sector with the Ember Cube, a shipping box for things that need to stay temperature-controlled \u2014 primarily medicines. It also makes heated baby bottles now, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI always say to people that cooling is much harder than heating. Heating is fairly straightforward in that you can create a heater by using a resistive heating element or a resistive heating wire. I mean, heck, you can just put electricity and any wire. It\u2019s gonna warm up, right?,\u201d Alexander notes. Cooling is a different beast, however. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize that you\u2019re not pumping cold energy into a fridge \u2014 you\u2019re actually pulling heat energy out of the box.\u201d<\/p>\n Ember\u2019s inception can be traced back to a relatable moment of frustration: a lukewarm cup of coffee. Alexander, a self-proclaimed coffee aficionado, longed for a solution to maintain the perfect temperature of his favorite brew from the first sip to the last. The path to bringing Ember to life was challenging. As a hardware startup, Ember faced unique obstacles that often deter entrepreneurs from venturing into this space. From the high product development and manufacturing costs to the complex web of IP protection and international expansion, Alexander navigated a maze of challenges that would test his resolve and determination.<\/p>\n Despite obstacles, Alexander remained steadfast. He assembled a team of engineers, designers and marketers who shared his passion for creating a product that would enhance the coffee-drinking experience and push the boundaries of what was possible in consumer technology. As Ember began to take shape, Alexander and his team poured countless hours into research and development, testing various materials and technologies until they arrived at a solution that met their bar. The result was a sleek, intuitive mug that could maintain a precise temperature for hours, controlled through a simple smartphone app. Indeed, 2,000 backers rallied to the idea on Indiegogo, giving the company a $360,000 cash injection and its first hint at market validation. Not long after, the company raised a series of equity rounds, including a $13 million Series C<\/a> and a $23 million Series E<\/a>.<\/p>\n Balancing form and function was an early challenge familiar to anyone in the hardware space. The mug needed to effectively maintain temperature while also being visually appealing and comfortable to hold. After extensive testing and refinement, Ember eventually settled on a sleek, minimalist design that seamlessly integrated the heating technology into the mug\u2019s walls. The mug also features wireless charging, customizable temperature settings and a smartphone app that allows users to control it remotely.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the challenge of actually bringing the product to market. Unlike software development, hardware development requires significant upfront investment in materials, tooling and manufacturing processes. As Alexander notes, these costs can quickly balloon, putting immense pressure on startups to secure funding and generate revenue as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Once a product is developed, hardware startups must navigate the complex world of intellectual property protection. In a fiercely competitive market, safeguarding one\u2019s innovations is critical to long-term success, but securing patents and trademarks can be time-consuming and expensive. This can be a daunting prospect for startups with limited resources, requiring careful strategizing and prioritization.<\/p>\n At one point, Ember found an incredible opportunity, which turned out to be a considerable challenge. Until this point, the mugs were already on sale in Starbucks and in other high-profile retail stores. But then, one of the biggest and most influential retailers in the world came knocking.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were expanding not just in the U.S. It took us about two years to get into the Apple store \u2014 the amount of testing they put your product through is wild \u2014 and the number of times I flew up to Cupertino\u2026 but it was worth it,\u201d Alexander remembers. \u201cBut Apple does not like to do localized launches. If they like your product, and you\u2019ve passed all their tests, they basically come to you and say, Okay, we want to do this on a global scale.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Ember was only shipping to North America, but when Apple came knocking and said it wanted to start selling its product in 27 countries, they didn\u2019t ask whether to jump, but rather how high to hop.<\/p>\n A Portable Medicine Cooler Prototype created in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic in 2018. Image Credits:<\/strong> Ember<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI remember going to my ops team and saying, \u2018Guys, Apple\u2019s coming to us with a silver platter, which would turn us into an international brand overnight. Are we going to do this?\u2019 And it was a couple of weeks of whiteboarding and blind panic,\u201d Alexander laughs. \u201cAnd ultimately, we just said, \u2018You know what, you only live once, let\u2019s do this,\u2019 and it was the most excruciating year of our lives. We went from North America to 27 countries with Apple.\u201d<\/p>\n As Ember began to expand internationally, Alexander and his team encountered challenges around navigating the regulatory landscapes of different countries, securing reliable manufacturing partners and adapting to local market conditions. Each challenge required a deep understanding of the global hardware ecosystem. Alexander credits Ember\u2019s success in this area to the strength of his team and their willingness to learn and adapt on the fly.<\/p>\n While Ember\u2019s smart mug has been a resounding success in the consumer market, the company\u2019s ambitions extend far beyond hot beverages.<\/p>\n A prototype of a cylindrical medicine cooler was developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. This concept was from 2019. Image Credits:<\/strong> Ember<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\t\tI love selling coffee cups, don\u2019t get me wrong, but being able to save lives has been something that all of us can rally behind.\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClay Alexander<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018What can we do with our temperature-control technology to help save lives?\u2019 I could see that we were becoming very successful in consumer,\u201d Alexander explains. \u201cI had Wyatt Decker, the CEO of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, on my board of directors. It was really cool to have a big-time healthcare executive on our board. And he would invite us out to the Mayo Clinic. And we would sit there in these conference rooms with doctors and scientists. Our idea was to unearth how our temperature-control technology could help solve pain points in healthcare, whether it\u2019s medicine or moving organs around or what-have-you.\u201d<\/p>\n Alexander and his team retreated back to the lab to start tackling the challenges it had discovered, putting its dozens and dozens of patents to good use. The company says it has more than 200 granted patents today, almost all of them in temperature control, whether it\u2019s semiconductor refrigeration technologies, heating technologies or the control systems to manage it all.<\/p>\n The work gave rise to Ember Cube, a device that promises to solve one of the most pressing challenges in the medical field. Many medications, particularly those used in cancer treatment and vaccine distribution, require precise temperature control to maintain efficacy. Even slight deviations from the optimal temperature range can render these medications useless or harmful. The Ember Cube addresses this issue by providing a portable, highly accurate, temperature-controlled environment for storing and transporting sensitive medications. Leveraging the same ethos used in its intelligent mugs, the Ember Cube maintains a precise temperature range, ensuring that the medicines inside remain viable and effective.<\/p>\n The Ember Cube dashboard enables shippers to see the medicines in transit in near-real-time, complete with temperature readouts. Image Credits:<\/strong> Ember<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If properly executed, the technology could be a game changer. By enabling the safe and efficient distribution of temperature-sensitive medications, the Ember Cube could help to improve access to life-saving treatments in remote or underserved areas. It could also reduce the cost and complexity of vaccine distribution, a critical consideration in the face of global health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Once you have the technology, tons of opportunities start to surface. For example, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency revealed that<\/a> it uses Ember\u2019s technology ahead of the 2024 Olympic team trials.<\/p>\n Alexander notes that he sees the development of the Ember Cube as a natural evolution of Ember\u2019s mission to use technology to solve real-world problems. By applying its expertise in temperature control to the medical field, Ember is poised to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients worldwide.<\/p>\n The decision to split Ember into two distinct divisions \u2014 consumer and life sciences \u2014 was a strategic move designed to allow each arm of the company to focus on its core competencies and target markets. By creating a dedicated life sciences division<\/a>, Ember can channel its resources and talent toward developing new applications for its technology in the medical field, from improving the storage and transportation of vaccines to enabling more precise temperature control in laboratory settings.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/First-Ember-Mug-Prototype-Circa-2012.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBeginnings<\/h2>\n
Across the sea<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Portable-Medicine-Cooler-Prototype-Created-in-Collaboration-with-Mayo-Clinic-in-2018-B.jpg\")
<\/p>\nGoing from hot to cold<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Cylindrical-Medicine-Cooler-Prototype-from-2019.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Ember-Cube_Dashboard.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nSpinning out<\/h2>\n