Keurig isn't just about coffee anymore - here's the groundbreaking technology that is the future of the business

Keurig Green Mountain's next big thing is its cold-drink maker, as the recently-acquired company attempts a financial comeback.

Called the Kold, it is going to be rolled out nationally next year. Right now, it is available on the company's website and in a few retailers.

On Monday, Keurig announced it is being acquired by JAB Group - which also has a majority stake in coffee-centric companies such as Peet's Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Company, and Jacobs Douwe Egberts - for $92 per share.

The deal comes after a year in which shares of Keurig lost about 60% of their value, with an all-time split-adjusted high of around $150 per share last November.

Keurig faces a saturated market for its hot drink brewing machines, which means a lot is riding on the Kold - which can deliver a carbonated, chilled beverage in 90 seconds without using a CO2 canister.

There's a lot of technology - and money - behind this. The company filed more than 50 patents, and has another 100 applications pending, over the course of five years as it developed the system. Keurig invested about $100 million in the device in fiscal 2015, and said in September it planned to spend a similar amount in 2016.

However, the roll out has so far been limited and often negative. Critics of the Kold have been quick to point out some big flaws in the device: it's expensive, large, needs to get warmed up and isn't more convenient than popping open a soda, according to some complaints on Keurig's website and Facebook page.

But a closer look at how the device works also reveals a few hints to how Keurig might be able to do to address some of these issues.