Investors who poured money into Juicero Inc., a startup that sells a high-tech juice press for $400, may be feeling buyer’s remorse right about now.
Here’s the deal: Juicero’s machines exert four tons of force (enough to lift two Teslas, according to founder Doug Evans) to turn packs of fruits and vegetables into raw cold-pressed juice. But, a Bloomberg investigation revealed Wednesday that these packs can be squeezed just as well by hand. Two Silicon Valley investors were reportedly unaware and frustrated by this revelation. They told Bloomberg that they felt Juicero didn’t deliver on its original pitch.
Other investors, however, didn’t seem to mind. “There is no doubt the packs can be squeezed without the machine,” investor Doug Chertok told Bloomberg. “I’m still a huge fan.”
To date, Juicero’s backers, including Google’s venture capital arm, have invested roughly $120 million into the company.