Cruz, a consumer technology company that “creates exceptional products that are built to last,” has announced a “significant investment round” from former Apple design guru, Jony Ive. 

The investment will go toward building a deeper inventory of Cruz’s debut product, BlenderCap, as well as bringing a series of new products to market that are slated to roll out in the coming year. BlenderCap is a cordless blender that combines a vacuum-insulated bottle, providing a new way for consumers to make shakes, smoothies, frozen drinks or blended coffee while maintaining its temperature all day, according to Matthew Moore, co-founder of Cruz.

The product uses lithium-ion battery technology to blend a week’s worth of beverages on a single charge. Cruz is designed to fit most wide-mouth bottles, including HydroFlask and ThermoFlask, so that any favorite bottle can become a portable blender at a moment’s notice.

The BlenderCap cordless blender

Moore says that additional industry trailblazers in this funding round include retired Apple Vice President Nick Forlenza and former eBay CEO Devin Wenig. Moore and his fellow co-founder, Dakota Adams, honed their design, manufacturing, and supply chain skills during their decade-long careers at Apple, where they were part of the team that built the original Apple Watch and various components of the iPhone.

IVE’S HISTORY AT APPLE

Ive joined Apple in September 1992. After several years of designing the interface aspects of Apple products he was promoted to senior vice president of Industrial Design in the late 1990s. Ive helped design the iMac, iPad, MacBook, and other products.

He also helped design Apple’s major architectural projects, such as Apple Park and Apple Stores.Apple announced in October 2012 that Ive would “provide leadership and direction for Human Interface (HI) across the company in addition to his role as the leader of Industrial Design.

Apple and its former head of design parted ways in July 2022, ending a three-decade run. 

ABOUT IVE

Ive holds more than 14,000 patents worldwide, uniquely spanning both software and hardware design. In 2019, Jony and long-time friend and collaborator Marc Newson gathered the creative collective LoveFrom.

Born in London, Ive studied industrial design at college. He was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2003, an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (HonFREng) in 2006. Jony was awarded the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2004 and the Professor Stephen Hawking Fellowship by the Cambridge Union Society in 2018. He holds honorary doctorates from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Rhode Island School of Design, University of the Arts London and the Royal College of Art, where he currently serves as chancellor.



Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today