The Boston startup FooQai, winner of the fifth edition of GOe On the Road

The Boston-based startup FooQai (United States), specialized in developing AI-powered technology for restaurants that helps kitchens improve plating consistency, portion control, and food cost management through its PlateScan platform — which analyzes dishes in real time and provides actionable insights to reduce waste and improve quality — has been selected as the winner of the fifth edition of GOe On The Road, the international foodtech entrepreneurship competition promoted by GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem with the support of the Basque Government’s Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries and Hazi Fundazioa.

The announcement of the winning startup took place during GOe Next: Food Venture Summit, the first entrepreneurship event in gastronomy and food organized by GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, aimed at understanding, connecting, and collaboratively shaping the future of food. The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Basque Government’s Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries and Hazi Fundazioa. The event was sponsored by Mahou San Miguel.

Richard Spada, Chief Customer Officer of FooQai, winner of this fifth edition of GOe On The Road, highlighted the importance of giving visibility to emerging projects in the food sector.

GOe On The Road has traveled to cities such as Tokyo, London, Boston, and Buenos Aires, concluding today with a day of content sessions and the international final held at GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem in Donostia-San Sebastián.

Startups and Gastronomic Entrepreneurship at the Center of GOe Next

The GOe Next event was opened by Joxe Mari Aizega, General Director of Basque Culinary Center; Iker Iglesias, Director of Food Policy and Industries of the Basque Government; and Irati Lekue, Head of Entrepreneurship at GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem.

Throughout the day, topics related to technology applied to gastronomy, food innovation, fermentation, artificial intelligence, agrifood transformation, and foodtech entrepreneurship were addressed.

The block titled “The New Reality in the Kitchen” began with a conversation between Erich Eichstetter, from the digital innovation area of GOe Tech Center — Basque Culinary Center’s gastronomy technology center — and Miguel Pueyo from Hostelero Profesional, discussing how artificial intelligence is transforming operational management in contemporary restaurants. The session explored the evolution from simple digitalization toward intelligent operating systems capable of optimizing decision-making, anticipating demand, coordinating workflows, and improving efficiency in real hospitality environments.

Along the same lines, Samuel Carrillo, CEO of Tipi — startup winner of GOe’s Future Gastronomy Startup Forum — presented the talk “The Voice of the Kitchen,” focused on how technology can be naturally integrated into the daily operations of hospitality businesses. Tipi is an AI-powered voice assistant designed to help kitchen teams manage tasks such as orders, recipes, costs, and supplier relationships easily and in real time, without screens or complex administrative processes. As Carrillo noted, “technology goes where you already are: with your hands full, talking.” Through this approach, Tipi aims to reduce administrative burdens in kitchens and provide chefs and hospitality professionals with a tool that allows them to focus on what matters most: cooking with greater control, efficiency, and peace of mind, addressing the hospitality sector’s clear need for more operational support.

At the same time, other attendees participated in the session “Innovation from the Source,” where Nora Alonso from Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-tech Fund shared reflections on the past, present, and future of the agrifood system. During her presentation, she emphasized the importance of the agrifood sector from economic, social, and cultural perspectives, as well as the key role of innovation, research, and knowledge transfer in driving transformation. She also highlighted the importance of investing in startups and emerging projects as a way to accelerate new solutions and address current challenges in the agrifood value chain.

“From Data to the Field: Applied Innovation in Livestock Farming” featured a conversation between Iker Bilbao from Neiker and Gorka Berrio from Behialde on digitalization applied to grazing and livestock management. Their discussion focused on how technology enables the transfer of traditional herd monitoring into digital environments, facilitating real-time tracking and management of animals. The use of sensors and digital tools makes it possible to analyze activity, health, and behavior, improving grazing management and supporting the achievement of grazing certifications.

The content block “Beyond the Idea” then began, where Jose Peláez from GOe Tech Center delivered the talk “How Design Sprints Accelerate Food Innovation,” centered on the potential of design sprints to speed up innovation processes in the food industry. During the session, Peláez explained how combining user-centered methodologies, multidisciplinary collaboration, and rapid experimentation enables companies and startups to transform ideas into validated solutions within days. Through practical examples, he demonstrated how this approach helps accelerate the development of new products and services, reduce uncertainty, and facilitate decision-making in innovation environments.

Next, Iván García from Néboda Farms delivered the presentation “How to Turn Innovation into a Competitive Advantage,” sharing the company’s vision on the role of innovation in the agrifood sector. Néboda Farms, specialized in indoor vertical farming, bases its model on high-density, low-cost cultivation systems that combine a scientific approach with industrial automation. During the session, the lean manufacturing philosophy was highlighted as a lever to improve production processes and quality, emphasizing that innovation lies not only in the product itself, but especially in the process. In this regard, the optimization and redesign of production systems were presented as sources of real competitive advantage and differentiated market value.

At the same time, attendees followed the presentation “From Byproduct to Innovation,” led by Rubén González, R&D and Quality Technician at Mahou San Miguel, and Asier Alea, Global Development Director at Basque Culinary Center, focused on innovation processes that allow food industry byproducts to be revalorized. One example presented was the work carried out with brewer’s spent grain, a byproduct traditionally destined for animal feed, transforming it into ingredients and new value-added products. Through an R&D process, they explained how this material can evolve into industrialized, approved flour suitable for human consumption, elevating it within the innovation “food pyramid.” The case illustrated the scientific, technological, and regulatory complexity involved in this paradigm shift, as well as the opportunity it represents for advancing circularity and resource efficiency in the food industry.

In the session “Fermenting New Possibilities,” Valerie Maza, CEO of 115 Pizzak, shared how a pizzeria in Astigarraga became a true “innovation garage,” where she developed technological solutions based on the operational needs of the business itself. From this perspective, she explained how the space evolved into an experimentation environment that fostered innovations such as a SaaS platform designed to create an integrated home-delivery ecosystem, solving limitations in connecting with external platforms. At the same time, she highlighted work in the field of fermentation, exploring new sourdoughs and starters made from apples and yeasts as part of a product innovation strategy.

Meanwhile, Lorena Zudaire from MOA Foodtech — winner of the Madrid stop of the first edition of GOe On The Road and finalist in the overall competition — delivered the presentation “Fermentation, AI, and the Future of Food,” where she shared the company’s evolution and technological proposal. MOA Foodtech develops next-generation functional ingredients for the food industry through fermentation processes in bioreactors powered by artificial intelligence. The company has already worked with more than 200 byproducts and built an extensive proprietary microorganism library, enabling it to optimize and scale development processes. In this context, she highlighted the role of their AI platform, Albatros, as a key tool for accelerating research, design, and validation of new ingredients, consolidating the company’s transition from startup to leading food technology company.

GOe On The Road Final

The finalist startups — AlgaleX, Fermtech, FooQai, and Quimya — presented their value propositions before a jury composed of Asier Alea, Global Development Director at Basque Culinary Center; Begoña Rodríguez, Director of GOe Tech Center; Iker Iglesias, Director of Food Policy and Industries of the Basque Government; and David Martinez from Stellum Capital.

Finally, Begoña Rodríguez, Director of GOe Tech Center, and Irati Lekue, Head of Entrepreneurship at GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, announced the winning startup.

FooQai received an award consisting of a research and innovation project to be developed at GOe Tech Center, as well as access to the international network of the Basque Culinary Center ecosystem.

Startups Participating in the GOe On The Road Final

AlgaleX, winner of the Tokyo stop, specializes in transforming food waste into sustainable ingredients, including plant proteins, with the goal of reducing waste and offering an environmentally friendly protein source.

Fermtech, winner of the London stop, transforms brewing byproducts into sustainable protein ingredients through fungal fermentation.

FooQai, winner of the Boston stop, develops AI-powered restaurant technology that helps kitchens improve plating consistency, portion control, and food cost management through its PlateScan platform, which analyzes dishes in real time and provides actionable insights to reduce waste and improve quality.

Quimya, winner of the Buenos Aires stop, develops 100% plant-based fermented yogurts made from coconut and almonds that address the lack of truly healthy and natural alternatives for consumers seeking plant-based products, offering a clean, nutritious, and functional formulation through innovative fermentation processes.

Winners of Previous Editions

In the fourth edition, Effium, specialized in designing high-performance frying pans inspired by aerospace engineering, was selected as the winner.

Last year, Oissy, the Tokyo-based foodtech startup focused on artificial intelligence technology and its Leo taste sensor — which replicates the human sense of taste to conduct food flavor analysis, provide data-driven consulting, and collaborate on taste research — was selected as the winner of the third edition.

In the second edition of the competition, Reborn Farms, a New York startup focused on building hyperlocal food systems in communities affected by racial or climate-related economic disadvantages, was selected as the winner.

The Danish startup Dryk won the first edition of Culinary Action! On The Road for its commitment to health and sustainability and its work developing nutritious dairy and vegan beverages made from plant protein.