The Spoon Podcast

The Spoon Podcast Network

4.8 (18)
TECHNOLOGY
UPDATED WEEKLY

Join host Michael Wolf and the Spoon editors as they explore the world of food tech, future food, ag tech and more!

4 DAYS AGO

The Future of Farming With Agtonomy's Tim Bucher

In this episode, Mike Wolf (The Spoon) sits down with Tim Bucher, CEO of Agtonomy, to discuss the intersection of agriculture, AI, and automation. Bucher shares his unique journey from growing up on a dairy farm to working at Silicon Valley giants like Apple, Next, WebTV, and Dell, before merging his two passions—farming and technology—to start Agtonomy. The conversation explores: How Bucher’s farming roots influenced his path into tech His work with Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and other Silicon Valley pioneers The challenges facing modern farmers and how automation can help What physical AI means for the future of agriculture How Agtonomy partners with farm equipment manufacturers to accelerate autonomous solutions We also just launched The Spoon Podcast Network! You can read about the reason behind our new network and see links to the shows here. (https://thespoon.tech/meet-the-spoon-podcast-network/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

45 min
JAN 18

An AI Tidal Wave at CES 2025

In this episode, Mike sits down with Raj Singh, a seasoned entrepreneur and product developer, to discuss the latest trends in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies showcased at CES. Raj shares his firsthand observations from the event, offering insights into how AI, robotics, and smart devices are shaping the future. The Podcast Breakdown: AI Innovations in Consumer Apps: Raj discusses his development of GPT Food Cam, an app that simplifies food calorie tracking with AI, emphasizing usability and consumer behavior. The Role of Smart Glasses and AR: Raj highlights the evolving role of augmented reality glasses and how AR technology is positioned to revolutionize professional and consumer applications. Physical AI and Robotics: Autonomous devices, from garbage bins to plant-watering systems, caught Raj’s attention as examples of how AI is entering everyday life. The Next Wave of AI: Raj explains concepts like language action models (LAMs), multimodal outputs, and the path toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). He also discusses the importance of high-quality data for training AI and the role of synthetic datasets. The Evolution of SaaS and No-Code Development: Raj delves into the debate between building custom tools internally versus using traditional SaaS products, reflecting on how no-code platforms are reshaping software development. Whether you went to CES or not, you won't want to miss this episode to hear how AI showed up at the big tech show and to hear Raj's insights on what it all means and where he sees AI going. Where to Find Raj Singh: LinkedIn, Linktree, and @mobileRaj on Threads, BlueSky, and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

44 min
11/26/2024

Why Your Next Stove Should Have a Battery With Sam Calisch

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, we sit down with Sam Calisch, founder and CEO of Copper, to explore how his company is trying to upend and catalyze the induction stove market by building an appliance with built-in batteries. Sam shares his journey from climate tech lobbyist and ecosystem builder to launching Copper, the challenges of breaking into the appliance industry, and how Copper’s products could eliminate the need for costly rewiring while also delivering a better cooking experience. We also dive into the future of energy-efficient homes, smart appliances, and the role of batteries in transforming our kitchens—and our power grids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 min
10/14/2024

Building a Smart Kitchen Product With Ome Kitchen's Akshita Iyer

This week we are joined by Akshita Iyer, CEO and co-founder of Ome, a smart kitchen startup that’s revolutionizing home safety with its second-generation smart stove knob. Originally launched under the name Inirv, the company’s journey began with a simple idea born from a personal experience—retrofitting stoves to prevent kitchen fires and help those aging in place. From a 3D-printed prototype in 2016 to delivering their first product through Kickstarter, Iyer shares the highs and challenges of bringing a hardware product to life, including turning down a Shark Tank deal and navigating complex safety standards. Here's what we discuss in this week's podcast: Iyer shares how her mother’s experience with Parkinson’s and a kitchen fire inspired her to start the company. The challenges of developing the product, from idea to fully functional smart knob. Iyer's Shark Tank experience, including an offer from Robert Herjavec that they chose to decline. How Ome Smart Knob prevents fires by automatically shutting off burners, with a focus on helping older adults and those with cognitive decline. The UL 858 safety certification and the company’s role in updating industry standards. How insurance companies may someday incentivize the adoption of smart safety devices. How Ome is working with senior living communities to gather data on reducing cooking-related risks. You can find out more at Ome Kitchen (www.omekitchen.com). Join The Spoon this week for a live conversation with two scientists from NotCo on how they are using AI to create new flavors and fragrances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 min
10/02/2024

Food Scientist Ali Bouzari

Ali Bouzari, a culinary scientist and co-founder of Pilot R&D, joins the podcast to discuss the intersection of food and technology. Bouzari shares his insights on the potential and limitations of AI and robotics in the culinary world, emphasizing the importance of approaching these tools with a critical eye. He also highlights the significant impact of climate change on the food industry, specifically citing the challenges facing chocolate production. Bouzari discusses his work at Pilot R&D, where his team assists food entrepreneurs in developing and scaling up new products. He describes their process, which includes ingredient sourcing, extensive trials, and sensory evaluations like the "smellathon." The episode concludes with Bouzari's reflections on the evolving food landscape, emphasizing the need for adaptability and a sense of culinary adventure in the face of global challenges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

39 min
09/20/2024

Sam Rose and Why She Loves Building Consumer Products

Today's conversation is with Sam Rose, who has spent her entire career unraveling the complexities of bringing consumer products—often kitchen-related—to life. I first met Sam about eight years ago, introduced through our mutual friend, Scott Heimendinger, who was collaborating with Sam on developing a next-generation coffee grinder. But this wasn’t just any coffee grinder. It was a cutting-edge, tech-forward device that could sense the freshness of the beans, use burr grinders to achieve perfect consistency, and more. In other words, it was exactly the kind of innovative kitchen gadget that intrigued me, especially as someone who organized the Smart Kitchen Summit. However, Sam’s journey didn’t begin with coffee grinders. Her first product was much simpler—at least from a technology standpoint—and was inspired by a personal frustration. Disgusted with a cheap silicone spatula, Sam thought, "Why don’t I just make my own?" And that’s exactly what she did. Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Sam has not only mastered the art of creating and selling her own consumer products to hundreds of thousands of customers but has also developed a comprehensive set of business processes and technologies to help others do the same. To top it off, she’s now investing in companies she believes she can help succeed—focusing on physical consumer products, a category that many investors shy away from. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

40 min
08/22/2024

Can You Grow Meat With Light?

Lab-grown or cultivated meat companies have struggled lately as they try to figure out how to do something that's never been done before: grow meat in large quantities in big metal vats known as bioreactors. Part of the challenge is figuring out how to get the meat cells to grow. The technology to do this has been borrowed from the world of pharma, an industry where you can charge thousands of dollars for drugs. Deniz Kent thinks he has the answer. His company, Prolific Machines, is replacing these expensive growth medium with the cheapest source of energy in the world: light. Link: Prolific Machines Website Make sure to subscribe to our weekly Food Tech News Show podcast where we talk about some of the top stories of the week in the world of food tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 min
07/31/2024

How a Non-Scientist & Former Lobbyist Started a Future Food Company

This week's episode features a conversation with Paul Shapiro, who went from being a lobbyist who advocated for better animal treatment to building a future food company that leverages technology to reduce our reliance on animal agriculture. Links: Paul's website: https://www.paul-shapiro.com/ Paul's company: The Better Meat Co. Paul's book: Clean Meat, on Amazon. Also, make sure to subscribe to our weekly Food Tech News Show podcast where we talk about some of the top stories of the week in the world of food tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

43 min

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4.8

out of 5

18 Ratings

Good overview of what you should know in food tech

07/18/2024

SandieLyn

The Spoon Podcast is a good way to stay on top of the latest food tech news. Every time I think I’m fully caught up, they bring up a story I hadn’t heard about. The hosts break down complicated topics so they’re easy to follow. It’s great for keeping informed without feeling overloaded.
Amazing

05/19/2020

tommmmnmmmmmmy

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🤯🤯🤯🤯
Fingers on the Pulse

02/16/2017

BoyNamedSous

Amazing podcast for anyone interested in the space where food meets technology. Michael Wolf's conversations with the movers and shakers in the industry are more than informative, they provide thoughtful insights into the types of problems that people are working to solve today.
Love it

09/15/2015

Tlmcclurg

Great show looking at both food tech and connected home. Now I need to make my kitchen smart. Too bad it won’t make me a better cook.