Samsung Launches AI Fridge That Tells You What’s for Dinner

Need to Know

• Samsung launches Smart Fridge in collaboration with recipe app, Whisk.
• The AI-powered refrigerator suggests recipes by looking inside and seeing what users already have.
• By using existing food more efficiently, the Smart Fridge expects to prevent food waste and save the consumer money.

Analysis

Whisk, a recipe and grocery app that was recently acquired by Samsung has launched a new AI-powered Smart Fridge that offers recipes inspired by what you already have. 

The futuristic refrigerator features advanced AI, developed in collaboration with nutritionists, food scientists, software engineers, and grocery retailers from across the world. The system delivers personalized cooking experiences by incorporating user preferences based on recipes they like, dietary restrictions, and their preferred grocery stores. Users then receive personalized recipes based on their preferences and other contexts, such as seasonal goods. 

In addition to the advanced AI, the Smart Fridge’s personalized experience is brought to life with the “ViewInside” camera, which first uses AI-powered image recognition to understand what’s inside the fridge. 

This exciting launch comes just months after Samsung’s acquisition of Whisk. Prior to the acquisition, Whisk functioned as a recipe storage, sharing, and organization platform. But the partnership with Samsung allowed for more advanced AI, integrating smart shopping lists as well as a grocery delivery function. 

Now, it appears that the partnership between Samsung and Whisk will evolve to advance food AI in a wider sense, moving beyond the individual cooking experience and allowing families to make smarter decisions with their food — and support the environment while they do it. 

According to Nick Holzherr, Head of Product, Whisk at Samsung NEXT, “In the US an average person wastes 238 pounds of food per year – that’s a staggering 21 percent of the food they buy. Wasted ingredients also cost the average US household $1,800 per year.”

In recent years, global food loss and waste have contributed eight to 10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, reports CBC News, recommending that in order to reduce food waste at home, consumers should get “creative with leftovers and [use] what you have.”

Adds Holzherr, “Whisk’s Food AI takes the ingredients you have and finds uses for them through an understanding of the kinds of recipes you enjoy, making your cooking experience simpler and smarter.”