AKA Foods has raised USD 17.2mn in seed funding led by AI experts and entrepreneurs Alex and Michael Bronstein to launch AKA Studio, a secure AI system that helps food companies design, optimise and release products more efficiently.

The platform integrates a company’s internal research and development data, including experimental measurements of texture, aroma and taste, with AI-assisted formulation tools. By consolidating sensory feedback, ingredient data and regulatory documentation, it shortens product development cycles from years to weeks.

The system enables secure, data-driven reformulation for cleaner labels, reduced sugar and fat content, and improved supply chain resilience. It can be deployed as a managed SaaS platform or on-premise for organisations with enhanced security requirements. Client data is not shared or used for model training, and clients retain full ownership.

The investment will support global enterprise deployment and further development of the sensory-AI framework, which also has potential uses in flavour, fragrance, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.