Combustion
Combustion Inc is a Seattle-based, founder-owned consumer kitchen-technology company that designs and sells direct-to-consumer a smart wireless Predictive Thermometer ecosystem — featuring an 8-sensor array, physics-based cook prediction, and Bluetooth mesh networking — serving home cooks, BBQ enthusiasts, and food-science creators across 35+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Combustion does
Combustion Inc (legal entity: Combustion LLC) is a Seattle-based, founder-owned consumer kitchen-technology company founded in 2020 by chef and food-science educator Chris Young. The company designs, manufactures, and sells direct-to-consumer a smart wireless cooking ecosystem anchored by its 2nd Generation Predictive Thermometer — a wireless probe with an 8-sensor array that uses TrueCore, TrueSurface, and TrueAmbient virtual sensors, plus a physics-based Prediction Engine and SafeCook food-safety feature, to locate the coldest spot in food and forecast remaining cook time. The platform is differentiated by a proprietary Bluetooth 5.4 mesh protocol (MeatNet) that daisy-chains devices for extended range, IP69K-rated hermetic sealing for sous vide and vacuum applications, and free firmware upgrades that extend device lifecycles. Adjacent products include the Giant Grill Gauge (WiFi-connected smoker/grill monitor), the upcoming Combustion Engine (wireless draft-control blower, preorder shipping Summer 2026), and a suite of accessories (WiFi Display, WiFi Booster, carry case, pot clip, ID tags, mounting kits).
The company monetizes exclusively through its own e-commerce storefront (combustion.inc) and a UK storefront (getcombustion.co.uk), with worldwide Delivered Duties Paid shipping to 35+ countries. Pricing spans $149 for the standalone Predictive Thermometer to $399 for multi-unit bundles, with accessories ranging $10-$119; there is no subscription or recurring software revenue. The go-to-market is product-led and community-led, leveraging founder-led YouTube cooking-science content, an active Reddit community (r/combustion_inc), endorsements from food-science personalities such as J. Kenji López-Alt, and an extensive recipe/guide content library. The customer base is highly diversified across individual home-cooking enthusiasts, BBQ/grilling hobbyists (including competitive BBQ teams), and food-science content creators, with no enterprise or retail channel exposure. Combustion raised a single $1.2M seed round in July 2021 and has subsequently funded growth organically; in April 2025 it acquired Crouton, a recipe-management app, marking its first disclosed M&A and signaling intent to deepen the software/app layer of the ecosystem.
Combustion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Combustion
- Legal name
- Combustion LLC
- Website
- https://combustion.inc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Combustion Inc is a Seattle-based, founder-owned consumer kitchen-technology company that designs and sells direct-to-consumer a smart wireless Predictive Thermometer ecosystem — featuring an 8-sensor array, physics-based cook prediction, and Bluetooth mesh networking — serving home cooks, BBQ enthusiasts, and food-science creators across 35+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Combustion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Smart Cooking Thermometers
- NAICS
- Automatic Environmental Control Manufacturing for Residential, Commercial, and Appliance Use (334512), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)
- SIC
- Auto Controls For Regulating Residential & Comml Environments (3822)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Thermometers & Temperature Monitoring (Smart Thermometers) (CRACAQAG)
Keywords
Where Combustion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Combustion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales: Primary revenue from selling predictive thermometers, WiFi accessories, grill gauges, and complementary accessories. Products are sold as one-time purchases with no recurring hardware costs. Extended battery life (90+ hours) and durable construction designed to minimize replacement cycles.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Predictive Thermometer 2nd Gen |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Predictive Thermometer + WiFi Display |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Predictive Thermometer + WiFi Booster |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Predictive Thermometer + WiFi Booster + WiFi Display Bundle |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 2 Predictive Thermometers + WiFi Boosters + WiFi Display |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 2 Predictive Thermometers + WiFi Display |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Giant Grill Gauge |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Combustion Engine |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Accessory Kit |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Accessories |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Combustion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Combustion designs, manufactures, and sells wireless predictive cooking thermometers built around an 8-sensor array that monitors surface, ambient, and core food temperatures in real time and forecasts remaining cook time using a physics-based Prediction Engine. The core product is the 2nd Generation Predictive Thermometer ($149), extended with WiFi Display, WiFi Booster, Giant Grill Gauge, Combustion Engine blower, and accessory add-ons, all of which interconnect over the proprietary MeatNet Bluetooth mesh and MeatNet Cloud for phone-free and remote monitoring.
Product overview
Combustion Inc offers a smart cooking ecosystem centered on the Predictive Thermometer, a wireless meat thermometer with 8 sensors that provides Total Temperature Awareness and predicts remaining cook time using physics-based modeling. The core product is the 2nd Generation Predictive Thermometer ($149), which is available in multiple bundles with WiFi-enabled accessories (WiFi Display for $119, WiFi Booster for $80). The ecosystem includes the Giant Grill Gauge ($149+) for smoker surveillance with 1000°F limit, and the upcoming Combustion Engine (preorder $179, ships Summer 2026) for wireless draft-control temperature management. Accessories include Carry Case ($39), Pot Clip ($10), Fridge Magnet, ID Tags ($15), and mounting kits. All Combustion tools interconnect via MeatNet, a Bluetooth mesh network, and can forward data to MeatNet Cloud for worldwide remote monitoring via the iOS/Android app.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MeatNet: Proprietary Bluetooth mesh network technology that extends wireless range for Combustion cooking tools
- TrueCore
- SafeCook
- Prediction Engine
- Combustion Engine
Products and services
- Predictive Thermometer (2nd Generation) Wireless cooking thermometer with 8 evenly spaced sensors providing Total Temperature Awareness. Detects the true core temperature regardless of insertion angle via TrueCore, tracks surface cooking temperature via TrueSurface, and isolates ambient air temperature via TrueAmbient. Uses a physics-based Prediction Engine to estimate remaining cook time. Targets serious home cooks, BBQ pitmasters, and competitive cooking enthusiasts. Priced at $149.
- Giant Grill Gauge External wireless grill and smoker temperature gauge with built-in WiFi and a 1,000 °F temperature limit. Features a large display readable from 50 feet and forwards data to MeatNet Cloud for remote monitoring. Compatible with Big Green Egg, Traeger, Weber, and most grills/smokers. Priced from $149.
- Combustion Engine Wireless, rechargeable draft-control blower that pairs with the Giant Grill Gauge or Predictive Thermometer to maintain rock-steady grill and smoker temperatures by controlling airflow. Variable-speed fan holds smoking temperatures for 24+ hours. Preorder price $179, shipping Summer 2026.
- WiFi Display Dedicated kitchen display with WiFi connectivity for phone-free cooking. Shows core, surface, and ambient temperatures, manages up to 4 Predictive Thermometers, and acts as a BLE range extender adding +330 ft to the MeatNet mesh. Priced at $119.
- WiFi Booster Bluetooth range extender and cordless charger for the Predictive Thermometer. Connects directly to WiFi for unlimited-range monitoring, recharges a Predictive Thermometer up to 16 times, and maintains standby charge for up to 9 months. Priced at $80.
- Accessory Kit Bundle of quality-of-life accessories for the Predictive Thermometer including Carry Case, ID Tags, Fridge Magnet, and Pot Clip. Priced at $49 (regularly $74).
Quantifiable outcome
- 90+ hours of cook time per charge, 40 days standby
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Combustion
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Combustion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
Combustion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Combustion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Ooni: Direct-to-consumer outdoor cooking brand (pizza ovens) building a connected cooking ecosystem. Ooni shares Combustion's D2C premium model and enthusiast community-led growth engine, though pizza-oven focused rather than thermometry.
Broad incumbents
- Breville: Premium kitchen appliance and connected-cooking brand with broader portfolio (sous vide, combi ovens, smart probes). Breville competes indirectly with Combustion at the premium cooking-tech end of the market, with much larger distribution and brand presence.
- Traeger Grills: Smart pellet grill brand and owner of MEATER. Traeger competes through integrated grill-plus-thermometer experiences, leveraging its own hardware ecosystem and Traeger App that bundles temperature monitoring with cooking automation.
- Weber: Largest global grill brand with the iGrill line of connected thermometers. Weber offers overlapping temperature-monitoring capability bundled with its dominant grill installed base, providing a competitive distribution channel Combustion lacks.
Direct peers
- ThermoWorks: Long-established premium cooking thermometer brand serving professional chefs and serious home cooks. Competes with Combustion on accuracy, probe thermometers, and BBQ/grilling use cases, with overlapping SKUs (Thermapen, Smoke, Signals) at similar premium price points.
- Inkbird: Direct-to-consumer smart cooking thermometer and controller brand popular with BBQ/smoker enthusiasts. Competes with Combustion on wireless probes, temperature controllers, and smoker automation at slightly lower price points.
- Anova Culinary: Smart cooking brand built around sous vide and connected kitchen appliances. Anova competes for the same precision-cooking enthusiast customer and shares the connected-cooking, app-driven hardware model Combustion uses.
- MEATER: Direct competitor offering wireless smart meat thermometers with similar target customers (home cooks, BBQ enthusiasts). Now owned by Traeger, MEATER competes head-to-head with Combustion in the connected cooking thermometer category, with comparable form factor and app integration.
- FireBoard Labs: Cloud-connected smoker/BBQ thermometer and temperature-logging brand serving pitmasters and competition teams. FireBoard competes on multi-probe wireless monitoring, app/cloud dashboards, and serious hobbyist customers.
- BBQ Guru: Specialist in pit/cooker temperature controllers and draft fans for competitive BBQ. BBQ Guru overlaps directly with Combustion's Combustion Engine wireless blower roadmap and serves the same competition BBQ persona.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Combustion social profiles
Digital presenceCombustion compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance10 records
Combustion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Combustion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Combustion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Combustion M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Combustion
What does Combustion do?
Combustion designs, manufactures, and sells wireless predictive cooking thermometers built around an 8-sensor array that monitors surface, ambient, and core food temperatures in real time and forecasts remaining cook time using a physics-based Prediction Engine. The core product is the 2nd Generation Predictive Thermometer ($149), extended with WiFi Display, WiFi Booster, Giant Grill Gauge, Combustion Engine blower, and accessory add-ons, all of which interconnect over the proprietary MeatNet Bluetooth mesh and MeatNet Cloud for phone-free and remote monitoring.
Is Combustion a public or private company?
Combustion is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Combustion founded?
Combustion was founded in 2020.
Where is Combustion based?
Combustion is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Combustion make money?
One revenue line is on record: hardware Sales.
Who are Combustion's main competitors?
Ooni is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Breville, Traeger Grills and Weber. Direct peers are ThermoWorks, Inkbird, Anova Culinary, MEATER, FireBoard Labs and BBQ Guru.
Does Combustion have an API?
No public API is recorded for Combustion.
What industry is Combustion in?
Combustion's product category is Smart Cooking Thermometers. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRACAQAG, Thermometers & Temperature Monitoring (Smart Thermometers). Its NAICS code is 334512 and its SIC code is 3822.