How See Produce Uses AI to Stop Food Waste Before It Starts
If you’ve ever opened your fridge to find spoiled fruit, you’ve felt the frustration that first inspired Pandian Rajaram. Raised on a farm in India, Pandian grew up with a deep respect for food and a belief that nothing edible should go to waste.
When he later found himself working in Los Angeles after earning his master’s degree in computer science, he was struck by how often groceries went bad before he could eat them. For Pandian, each wasted tomato or banana was more than a nuisance; it was personal. “I know what it takes to grow food from seed to harvest,” he said. “Throwing it away just never sat right.”
That frustration led to an idea: what if technology could help consumers and retailers know exactly when produce is at its peak? Pandian partnered with Priyanka Kumari, and together they began developing See Produce, an app that uses AI to determine a fruit or vegetable’s freshness from a single photo. Their mobile app, Kitchen SensAI, gives users an instant read on ripeness, tracks grocery inventory and suggests recipes to make the most of what is in the kitchen.
But Priyanka and Pandian quickly realized the potential went far beyond a home kitchen. Grocery stores and distributors lose millions each year to premature spoilage. See Produce’s B2B platform now helps them forecast shelf life, manage inventory and bring food to consumers at peak freshness, reducing waste and boosting efficiency across the supply chain.
The turning point came in 2024, when the co-founders left California for Huntsville, Alabama, to join the HudsonAlpha AgTech Accelerator powered by gener8tor. What was meant to be a short stay turned into a permanent move. The program connected them with mentors, investors and agricultural leaders across the Southeast, including the USDA’s National Peanut Research Laboratory and the HudsonAlpha Wiregrass Innovation Center.
Through gener8tor’s support, they built a network of more than 400 industry contacts and dozens of investor relationships in just a few months. “Chris Udall and the gener8tor team treated us like family,” Priyanka said. “They helped us find our footing in a new state and opened every door possible for us to grow.”
Today, See Produce is expanding its technology to more crops, from avocados and tomatoes to berries and onions, and exploring new partnerships across the U.S.
For gener8tor, See Produce is proof that great ideas turn into real-world impact when founders have the right support and community. What began as one person’s frustration with spoiled food has grown into a company helping people and businesses waste less and get more from every meal.