Exclusive: Tastewise raises $50 million Series B
Why it matters: Specialized, category-specific AI tools are raising money, even in an uncertain market.
How it works: Tastewise uses generative AI to automate sales and marketing tasks for food and beverage companies, claiming to cut product launch times by 6-8 months.
Mars, Kraft-Heinz, and PepsiCo are clients, the company says.
What they're saying: " Specializing in an industry is the only way to actually be able to accelerate productivity and replace professional services," Tastewise CEO Alon Chen tells Axios.
"Investors realize that, yeah, you can have generic, Gen-AI solutions but integrating them into your organization is a heavy lift," he says.
Zoom in: The Series B round included Duo Partners, Peakbridge, Disruptive AI, and PICO.
Chen says the company would use the money to invest in its AI capabilities and to expand further in North America, where 70% of the platform's customer base is.
The round brings total funding to $72 million, but the company declined to share its valuation.
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