SmartPlate was once poised to revolutionize how we think about healthy eating. Developed by Fitly Inc., it was a high-tech plate designed to automatically identify, weigh, and analyze the food on your plate using artificial intelligence, cameras, and sensors.
Marketed as the world’s first intelligent nutrition platform, SmartPlate aimed to replace manual food tracking with real-time AI-powered analysis.
Despite its promising concept and early buzz, SmartPlate quietly faded from the spotlight. As of 2025, the product is no longer available, and Fitly Inc. appears to have ceased operations. What went wrong?
The Vision and the Founders
SmartPlate was founded by Anthony Ortiz, who served as the CEO of Fitly Inc. He was joined by co-founders Harry Du, COO, and Nataliya Preiss, CMO.
The trio envisioned a future where nutrition tracking would be automatic and effortless, helping people manage weight, chronic diseases, and fitness goals without the hassle of manual input.
Ortiz, a tech-savvy entrepreneur, drew from personal experiences with family health issues to fuel the mission behind SmartPlate.
The founders pitched the product as a tool not just for weight loss but for managing conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Shark Tank and Early Momentum
In 2016, SmartPlate was introduced to a national audience on ABC’s Shark Tank. Ortiz entered the tank seeking a $1 million investment in exchange for 15 percent equity.
The Sharks were intrigued by the idea but were quick to spot the challenges. The prototype was still early, the tech heavily depended on third-party software, and the price seemed too steep for mass adoption.
Despite leaving without a deal, SmartPlate gained significant visibility. The company leveraged the exposure to launch successful crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, raising over $100,000 to move the product into production.
From Hype to Launch
After several delays, SmartPlate 2.0 officially launched in 2020. It came equipped with advanced features:
- A three-camera system to visually identify foods
- Weight sensors in the plate to measure portions
- AI-powered food recognition software
- A mobile app that integrated with Fitbit and Apple Health
It was marketed as a complete health tool for athletes, dieters, and people with medical conditions. Retail partners included Amazon, Jet.com, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Target.
Why SmartPlate Failed
Despite all the innovation, Smart Plate’s commercial rollout hit multiple roadblocks.
- High cost: The plate was priced at $199, with an optional $30 per month subscription for premium tracking. For many consumers, this was prohibitively expensive.
- Usability constraints: Users had to eat every meal off the SmartPlate for accurate tracking. This didn’t account for eating out, snacking, or multi-course meals.
- Delayed delivery: Crowdfunding backers experienced repeated production delays, leading to frustration and negative press.
- Competition from apps: Free or low-cost food tracking apps like MyFitnessPal continued to dominate the health tracking space without requiring special hardware.
Status in 2025
As of 2025, SmartPlate appears to be out of business. The official website is offline. Retail listings for the product show it as out of stock or discontinued.
The SmartPlate mobile app remains on the iOS App Store, but it receives poor user ratings and reports of bugs and non-functionality. No new updates have been posted to the company’s social media pages since 2021.
The founders have not made any public statements about the closure. Anthony Ortiz’s LinkedIn profile still lists him as Founder and CEO of Fitly, but no new product activity has been reported in recent years.
Lessons Learned from SmartPlate
SmartPlate is a compelling example of how even groundbreaking ideas can fall short in execution. Several key lessons emerge:
- Developing and scaling hardware is much more complex than launching software
- Crowdfunding success doesn’t guarantee product-market fit
- Innovative tech must be balanced with real-world usability
- Pricing must match consumer value and expectations
- SmartPlate had a futuristic idea and tapped into a growing market. But building advanced hardware, maintaining AI models, and offering customer support is costly and difficult to sustain.
Conclusion
The story of SmartPlate is one of bold ambition and real innovation. Its creators attempted to solve a meaningful problem with cutting-edge technology.
However, the combination of high costs, technical complexity, and real-world usability issues proved too difficult to overcome.
Today, SmartPlate stands as a reminder that being too smart for the current market or asking too much of users can cause even the most intelligent ideas to fail. The dream was real, but the execution couldn’t keep up.
FAQ: What Happened to SmartPlate?
Q: What was SmartPlate?
A: SmartPlate was a tech-enabled plate created to automatically identify and analyze food using built-in cameras, weight sensors, and AI.
Q: Who founded SmartPlate?
A: SmartPlate was developed by Fitly Inc., founded by Anthony Ortiz along with co-founders Harry Du and Nataliya Preiss.
Q: Was SmartPlate on Shark Tank?
A: Yes, SmartPlate was featured on Shark Tank in 2016, but did not secure a deal from the Sharks.
Q: Is SmartPlate still available in 2025?
A: No, SmartPlate is no longer available. The company’s website is offline and the product is listed as unavailable across retail platforms.
Q: Why did SmartPlate fail?
A: The product struggled with high pricing, limited real-world usability, production delays, and strong competition from cheaper tracking apps.
Q: Can I still download the SmartPlate app?
A: The app is still listed on the iOS App Store as of 2025, but users report issues with functionality and lack of support.
