Kigüi Secures $500K to Boost Its AI Against Food Waste

With a fresh funding injection and a renewed focus on artificial intelligence, Kigüi is set to enhance inventory management and scale its impact across Latin America.

As part of its mission to tackle food waste, Kigüi is harnessing AI to improve inventory management in the retail sector as it looks ahead to 2025. Backed by a recent funding round and new strategic partnerships, the startup is preparing to expand into new markets and launch advanced AI-powered solutions.

The $500,000 funding round, led by The Yield Lab, comes at a pivotal moment for Kigüi. This investment will accelerate the development of its technology to address key industry challenges. One of its top priorities is refining its expiration date detection system, cutting processing times from 10 seconds to around two, streamlining in-store operations, and improving retailers’ efficiency.

“These advancements improve efficiency for both retailers and consumers,” said Mauricio Kremer, CEO and co-founder of Kigüi in an interview with Tribu. “We currently identify and sell 64% of near-expiry products while reducing retailers’ operational workload by 12%, reducing reliance on manual processes.”

This investment will also support the enhancement of Kigüi’s predictive analytics models to anticipate expiration patterns and optimize decision-making across the supply chain. This machine learning upgrade is being developed in collaboration with Google Cloud, further strengthening Kigüi’s AI-driven approach to inventory optimization.

Recent technological advancements have enabled Kigüi’s regional expansion. The startup is set to launch pilots with Farmacity in Argentina and Tottus in Chile, marking its entry into the Southern Cone. Additionally, last September, Kigüi secured a deal with Nestlé Mexico to enter the pharmacy retail channel while reinforcing its existing partnership with Cencosud in Peru, where it is already optimizing operations in six stores.

A Return to Its Roots Since its early days, Kigüi has focused on reducing food waste through technology and data analytics. What began as a solution for managing expiration dates in supermarkets has evolved with the integration of machine learning, expanding its capabilities and refining its services.

Along the way, Kigüi also experimented with a consumer-focused model by launching an app. While it was a valuable learning experience, the startup soon recognized the greater potential of scaling its impact through B2B solutions, collaborating with major retailers such as Walmart, Sigma Alimentos, and Cencosud Peru.

Today, under the strategic leadership of CEO Mauricio Kremer, Kigüi is balancing expansion with consolidation. As it enters new markets, the startup continues to strengthen its footprint in existing distribution channels, prioritizing consistent and sustainable results while continuing to support retailers in optimizing efficiency and minimizing losses.