The Sansaire Delta.

High-tech cooking startup Sansaire is closing its doors.

The Seattle-based company is halting development of its latest WiFi sous vide cooking device, the Delta, its CEO said in an announcement to Kickstarter backers.

“We regret to share that Sansaire will be ceasing development of the Delta and the company will ultimately be closing its doors,” said Lukas Svec, CEO of Sansaire, in a statement to backers. “In short, our relationship with the new production facility broke down and has exhausted available funding and manufacturing routes. As we wind down over the next 12 months, Sansaire will be supporting warranties and customer service issues. Kickstarter Backers will be contacted individually regarding next steps.”

Sous vide is a style of cooking that involves immersing food in controlled temperature baths. Seattle is at the center of the sous vide technology movement — with several companies in the region developing and selling at-home sous vide devices.

The Delta device was the anticipated follow up to the Sansaire Sous Vide Machine, one of the most popular culinary-oriented Kickstarter projects in the site’s history. Despite raising $256,804 from 1,314 backers on Kickstarter for the Delta, against a goal of $100,000, Sansaire last year delayed production of the device to pursue an outside funding round to pay for manufacturing costs following a switch in manufacturing partners.

Rumblings that the company would shut down started percolating late last year when the delay was announced, but GeekWire was unable to confirm the information. The closure comes after a tumultuous time at the top for Sansaire.

Svec, who co-founded the company and previously served as CEO until March 2016, returned to the chief executive role late last year. He succeeded Lilac Muller, who left in November a few months into her tenure. Muller was the third CEO to depart since Svec left the post in 2016.

Johnna Hobgood spent a year as CEO before leaving in April to work as a senior manager at Amazon focused on the Amazon Go checkout-free shopping experience. Valerie Trask, a co-founder and former COO, left in September 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile, and eventually went to Expedia.

Kickstarter and other crowdfunding mechanisms have opened up a new avenue for entrepreneurs to fund and drum up excitement for their products. The medium has generated plenty of successful products, but for every hit like the Exploding Kittens game, there is a Zano. And even some of the most successful and exciting projects have taken longer and cost much more than expected.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.