Smart mug maker Ember raises $23.5M as it looks toward medical storage –

Back in February, Ember’s new consumer CEO, ex-Dyson exec Jim Rowan, outlined for TechCrunch the company’s plans to expand beyond the temperature-controlled smart mugs that bear its name. At the time, the executive cited the cold chain – specifically medicine transport – as a potentially important category for the startup going forward. The latter comes as Ember announces plans to open an R&D center in the Southeast Asian country in a bid to expand its international presence. “Since launching Ember five years ago, our company’s mission has always been to use our expertise in precision temperature control to solve real-world problems for our customers,” founder and group CEO Clay Alexander said in a release. This additional capital will be instrumental in bringing to life technology across our vast patent portfolio in the coming years, particularly in the healthcare and infant feeding space.” On the cold chain front, the company alluded to the forthcoming arrival of its “first self-refrigerated, cloud-based shipping box.” Targeted at the pharmaceutical industry, the technology is looking to target a global supply chain currently subjected to unprecedented strain.