Irish smart kitchen company Fresco has raised a further $20 million (€18.4 million) and said it will double its workforce in two years as the company continues to develop its connected kitchen platform.

The Dublin-based company, which offers a neutral platform to connect smart kitchen appliances, said the money will be used to double its 60-strong team and allow it to invest in improving its digital platform.

“The smart kitchen is going to be the most important part of the smart home. That’s what this $20 million funding round is going towards,” said Fresco chief executive Ben Harris. “We are a true platform where we are listening to all of our appliance partners, bringing them together as part of this alliance.”

Fresco, which rebranded earlier this month from Drop, was co-founded by Mr Harris, Jack Phelan, Jonny McCauley and Tim Redfern in 2012, and developed its own smart scale. The company then developed a dedicated platform that connects appliance manufacturers, recipe publishers and food stores together.

Its KitchenOS software has been integrated into products by appliance manufacturers such as Bosch, Electrolux, Kenwood, GE Appliances, Thermomix and Panasonic. The “connects with Fresco” brand certifies appliances that can be controlled from smartphones, tablets, smart speakers and smart home assistants, while the app can guide consumers through the cooking process.

It also uses artificial intelligence to pull recipes into the Fresco app from other websites, and highlight the important information for cooks in an easy to follow format.