Akshita Iyer, Founder And Ceo Of Ome – Interview Series

Akshita Iyer, Founder and CEO of Ome, is simply a neuroscience postgraduate from Duke University whose entrepreneurial way was sparked by a individual acquisition pinch a room fire. This pivotal infinitesimal led to nan creation of Ome, a institution focused connected reimagining nan cooking acquisition done smart location innovation. Under her leadership, Ome introduced nan patented Smart Knob, a solution designed to make kitchens safer and much automated. Iyer besides serves connected nan UL 858 Technical Committee, wherever she useful alongside manufacture experts to uphold information standards for family appliances.

Ome is nan world’s first Smart Knob that replaces your stove knobs to adhd real-time distant control, automatic shut-off, and sound integration—making cooking safer and stress-free. Compatible pinch astir state and electrical stoves, Ome helps forestall room fires and offers hands-free power without requiring a subscription.

Can you show america a spot astir your individual travel from neuroscience astatine Duke to becoming nan laminitis of a smart location tech company?

Honestly, I ne'er expected to extremity up successful nan room appliance space. I studied neuroscience astatine Duke pinch plans to spell to med school. After graduation, I worked astatine a infirmary to summation experience, but during that time, I sewage hooked connected Shark Tank. I was fascinated — not conscionable by nan products, but by nan people. So galore of them weren’t accepted entrepreneurs. They were conscionable regular group solving individual problems. That really stuck pinch me.

Then thing happened successful my ain home: my mom, who was diagnosed pinch Parkinson’s, accidentally near nan stove connected and started a room fire. Thankfully nary 1 was hurt, but it was a wake-up call. I started searching for a solution and assumed thing elemental already existed to lick this — but I quickly realized really antiquated and underserved nan room abstraction is.

Every different portion of nan location had gotten smarter — smart thermostats, locks, lights — but nan stove, arguably nan astir vulnerable appliance successful nan house, had been near behind.

That’s erstwhile everything clicked. If location were retrofit solutions for doorbells and thermostats, why not nan stove? I didn’t person a tech background, but I couldn’t shingle nan thought and thought, “how difficult could it be?” (Spoiler: beautiful hard.) But I dove successful anyhow — and that’s really Ome was born.

What was nan “aha” infinitesimal erstwhile you realized nan request for a merchandise for illustration nan Ome Smart Knob?

The “aha” infinitesimal came from recognizing a immense unsighted spot successful nan smart location space. This was correct aft nan individual acquisition I mentioned earlier, erstwhile my mom accidentally near nan stove on.

At nan time, smart devices were everyplace — from thermostats to doorway locks and doorbells — but nan kitchen, and particularly nan stove, had been near behind. And yet, unattended cooking is still nan starring origin of location fires and leads to complete $1B successful spot harm each year. That disconnect didn’t make consciousness to me.

As I started digging deeper, I realized location were virtually nary affordable, retrofit options to make stoves smarter aliases safer. Everything connected nan marketplace was either highly costly aliases required replacing nan full appliance, which conscionable isn’t realistic for astir households. That gap, mixed pinch my ain desire to thief my aging parents enactment safe and independent successful their homes, really lit nan occurrence (no put intended).

I was wished to create a instrumentality that could modernize nan stove — thing simple, intuitive, and accessible. That thought became nan instauration for nan Ome Smart Knob.

What were nan biggest challenges you faced successful nan early days of building Ome, and really did you flooded them?

Switching from neuroscience and a med schoolhouse way to founding a tech institution was a immense leap. I was a first-time entrepreneur, figuring everything retired arsenic I went. One of nan biggest early hurdles was learning really to raise capital. I had nary acquisition successful nan startup world, and initially I thought having a beardown thought and a compelling merchandise would beryllium enough. I quickly learned that wasn’t nan case. I had to study really to pitch, who to transportation to, and really to tailor nan message.

For example, I retrieve pitching to an investor whose thesis was to put successful B2B SaaS startups — retrospectively, wholly nan incorrect fresh — and his disorder was palpable. That taught maine early connected that I needed to do my homework and understand not conscionable really to show our story, but who I was telling it to. Fundraising became arsenic overmuch astir psychology and strategy arsenic it was astir nan product.

And past nan pandemic hit. Our proviso concatenation came to a standstill. We couldn’t get components, accumulation slowed, and we had early supporters waiting for a merchandise we couldn’t present connected time. That was a defining infinitesimal for us. We sewage really honorable pinch our customers — transparency became our northbound star. Internally, we group up a warfare room, re-evaluated suppliers, and recovered replacement solutions to get accumulation backmost connected track, moreover astatine constricted capacity.

Looking back, those challenges shaped nan resilience of our company. We learned to accommodate fast, pass clearly, and lick 1 problem astatine a time. And that mindset still drives really we run today.

Can you springiness america a speedy breakdown of really nan Ome Smart Knob useful and what makes it unsocial successful nan smart room space?

Ome is nan world’s first Smart Stove Knob designed to make cooking safer, easier, and much intuitive. It’s nan only retrofit instrumentality that replaces your existing stove knobs and tin beryllium installed successful conscionable minutes connected almost each state aliases electrical stovetops and ranges. Once installed, it turns your stove into a smart appliance that you tin show and power successful real-time, from anywhere.

What sets Ome isolated is that it tackles 1 of nan astir overlooked problems successful nan smart home: unattended, distracted cooking, which is nan starring origin of location fires. Our exertion offers features for illustration automatic shut-off successful lawsuit of absence, information locks, built-in timers, and hands-free sound power via Amazon Alexa — giving users bid of mind each clip they cook.

But we’re not conscionable building a safer stove. Our imagination is to create a afloat connected room — integrating auxiliary sensors, smart look content, and moreover market transportation to streamline and simplify nan full cooking experience.

What besides makes Ome unsocial is our effect beyond individual households. Our level includes a centralized dashboard that allows spot managers successful multi-unit buildings — for illustration dorms, condos, and elder surviving communities — to show stove activity remotely and proactively forestall hazards. It’s not conscionable astir user convenience; it’s astir nationalist safety, particularly successful environments wherever a azygous incident tin impact galore lives.

While a batch of smart room gadgets adhd to antagonistic clutter aliases only connection niche features, Ome delivers thing that’s some basal and seamless — a smarter, safer, and much intuitive kitchen, starting pinch nan astir utilized cooking appliance.

You’ve described your position of AI successful nan location arsenic “ambient intelligence” alternatively than app-centric. What does that mean successful practice, and why is it important?

To me, ambient intelligence intends tech that blends into your life — softly moving successful nan background, learning from your behavior, and stepping successful only erstwhile needed. Most smart location products coming are very app-driven. You person to unfastened an app, property a button, set settings. That’s not really smart — it’s conscionable distant power pinch other steps.

With Ome, we want to flip that book and pave nan way toward a early wherever your location anticipates risks and takes action earlier you moreover announcement a problem. Imagine a stove that shuts disconnected if near connected excessively long, aliases detects patterns that mightiness bespeak a problem, without you lifting a finger. The champion exertion doesn’t interrupt your life. It enhances it quietly, and keeps you safe without being intrusive.

The smart location marketplace is filled pinch flashy gadgets — really does Ome push backmost against that novelty bias successful favour of simplicity and trust?

We intentionally built thing simple. The Ome Smart Knob doesn’t effort to beryllium flashy. It looks and feels for illustration nan point it replaces and that’s nan point. It installs easily, useful quietly, and adds existent value.

In safety, little is more. People don’t want different app to negociate aliases a analyzable interface. They want solutions that consciousness natural, that conscionable work. They want bid of mind. We’ve heard truthful galore users say, “This conscionable makes sense.” That’s nan benignant of feedback we strive for.

In your view, what does nan manufacture get incorrect astir what group really want aliases request from smart location technology?

I deliberation there’s a inclination to over-engineer — much features, much control, much complexity. But astir group conscionable want less: little friction, little risk, little worldly to manage.

Smart homes should alteration independence, not require changeless attention. Especially for older adults aliases engaged families, exertion needs to beryllium supportive, not stressful. That’s what we attraction on: building tech that serves existent needs successful intuitive ways.

You're portion of nan UL 858 Technical Committee, helping specify information standards. How does that activity power your decisions astatine Ome?

Being connected nan UL 858 Technical Committee has been incredibly eye-opening. It’s 1 point to create caller technology. It’s different to beryllium astatine nan array wherever information standards are really being written. UL 858 focuses connected preventing hazards for illustration accidental activation and overheating successful electrical ranges, and a large portion of that activity is figuring retired really information evolves arsenic appliances get smarter.

That position straight shapes our attack astatine Ome. We made a very deliberate determination that our Smart Knob requires a manual push-and-turn to activate — not because it’s trendy, but because it aligns pinch a halfway information principle: intentional use. We don’t let distant start, because erstwhile you're dealing pinch occurrence and gas, there’s nary room for ambiguity astir personification intent.

Being successful those discussions — wherever nan consequences of a creation determination are measured successful lives and spot — reinforces our committedness to real-world information complete flashy features. It’s helped america enactment clear connected our priorities: building tech that’s not conscionable smart, but safe by design, trustworthy by default, and ever grounded successful nan realities of nan home.

Why was it important for you to create a retrofit solution alternatively of building a caller smart appliance from scratch?

From time one, accessibility and sustainability person been halfway to our ngo and that’s precisely why we chose to build a retrofit product.

Replacing an full stove conscionable to make it smart isn’t realistic for astir people. It’s expensive, a awesome purchasing decision, and typically isn’t basal unless your appliance breaks aliases you’re building a caller house. We saw an opportunity to do thing much thoughtful: create a solution that useful pinch what group already have. With Ome, upgrading your stove takes minutes — nary remodeling, nary steep learning curve, and nary request to switch thing that still works.

There’s besides a deeper sustainability perspective present that’s often overlooked. So galore modern appliances are designed to beryllium replaced — short merchandise cycles, package that ages retired quickly, components that neglect early. We’re pushing against that trend. By extending nan life of existing appliances, we’re reducing discarded and offering a smarter alternative.

To us, invention isn’t astir starting from scratch. It’s astir rethinking what’s imaginable pinch what’s already successful spot to make homes safer, smarter, and much sustainable successful nan process.

How do you deliberation nan broader smart location scenery will germinate successful nan adjacent 5 years, particularly successful position of AI integration?

Over nan adjacent 5 years, I deliberation we’ll spot a basal displacement from “smart” homes to genuinely intelligent homes, and AI will beryllium nan driver of that change. But it won’t look for illustration what we spot today. It won’t beryllium astir much screens aliases much power panels. The early is ambient — quiet, contextual, and profoundly intuitive.

AI will go amended astatine learning really we unrecorded from our routines, preferences, and patterns of behavior. Instead of changeless notifications and manual inputs, we’ll spot systems that measurement successful automatically — adjusting, assisting, and protecting america successful ways that consciousness invisible but meaningful. Think of a location that senses consequence and responds instantly, without waiting for a command.

This displacement will besides redefine what “smart” really means. Right now, there’s a flood of connected devices that don’t adhd existent value. Over time, I judge we’ll spot nan marketplace correct itself, moving from gimmicks to purpose-driven innovation. Safety, aging successful place, accessibility, and sustainability will go nan benchmarks that matter.

The companies that thrive successful this adjacent shape won’t beryllium nan ones chasing trends. They’ll beryllium nan ones softly building trust, solving existent symptom points, and creating tech that blends into nan inheritance but makes a existent quality successful mundane life.

Thank you for nan awesome interview, readers who wish to study much should sojourn Ome.