Israeli company Tastewise, which builds a generative AI platform for the food and beverage industry, has laid off dozens of employees. Calcalist first reported the news. According to the report, before the layoffs the company employed about 100 people in several countries, more than 60 of them in Israel.
Tastewise was founded in 2018 by Alon Chen and Eyal Gaon. Its platform analyzes huge amounts of online data, from menus, recipes, reviews and social networks, to help food and beverage companies understand what consumers want and develop new products. In recent years the company has positioned itself as a generative AI company, with an assistant that answers questions from marketing and product development teams.
The layoffs join a long list of cuts in Israeli tech this week, including Axonius, which is cutting 22% of its Israeli development center. But the Tastewise case is especially interesting, because it is a company selling exactly what the market is excited about. If even a company like this is cutting, it is a sign the 'AI' label no longer guarantees money, customers or investor patience.
The problem for companies like Tastewise is twofold. On one hand, the large models from OpenAI, Google and others are getting better at analyzing online data, and customers are starting to ask why they should pay for a dedicated platform. On the other, the customers themselves, large food companies, are cutting research and marketing budgets. A company caught between those two pressures has to prove value that cannot be had from a general chatbot.
For Israeli food tech, a field that drew a lot of attention in recent years, it is a reminder that the market judges every company by how much it brings in, not by how impressive its demo is. And in such a market, even a good idea needs a business model that stands on its own.
