Calgary, Alberta-based Cashew Research, a startup focused on leveraging artificial intelligence for market research, recently won the Enterprise Stage pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. The company's platform integrates AI to streamline the development of market research plans and surveys, aiming to accelerate the traditionally time-intensive and costly process within the estimated $90 billion market research industry.
Cashew Research employs AI to formulate market research plans and surveys based on client information needs, such as brand recognition or marketing message resonance. The platform then dispatches these surveys to human respondents, with AI subsequently summarizing and digesting the collected findings. This approach seeks to provide brands with custom, fresh data, according to Addy Graves, co-founder and CEO of Cashew.
Graves, who possesses over a decade of experience in market research, indicated that the company addresses a market gap between expensive traditional firms and the limitations of large language models (LLMs) that often surface recycled data. The initial concept for Cashew emerged from a recurring client demand for comprehensive research projects, including real-world human data, deliverable within a few days. Graves stated that the advent of AI technology made it possible to automate research processes, best practices, data science-backed methodologies, and report formatting.
The automation introduced by Cashew is also reported to reduce operational costs, making market research accessible to small and medium-sized brands that might otherwise find traditional services prohibitive. Founded in 2023 by Graves and Chief Operating Officer Rose Wong, Cashew initially concentrated on consumer packaged goods, particularly in the food and beverage sector.
Graves highlighted the company's differentiation in the AI marketing tools sector, noting that Cashew avoids full automation by integrating fresh human data into each project. The company further aims to develop a competitive advantage by anonymizing and incorporating collected real-world data into its proprietary database for future research initiatives.
Cashew Research has secured C$1.5 million in pre-seed funding and plans to launch a seed round in early 2026, targeting up to $5 million for product technology development. Graves noted that the company's strategic priorities for the coming year include expanding its presence in the U.S. and building its business-to-business (B2B) segment. She added that the company is "creating this new category for marketers to gain access to answers to these questions that they’ve had," by addressing both existing research buyers and those previously constrained by cost or timelines.
