In the sprawling $90 billion market research industry, businesses have long been caught between a rock and a hard place: commissioning slow, prohibitively expensive traditional research firms or relying on generative AI that often recycles outdated, generic information from the internet. This dichotomy has left a significant portion of the market, particularly small and medium-sized brands, without access to the timely, custom consumer insights needed to compete effectively. A Calgary-based startup, Cashew Research, is now carving out a crucial middle ground by ingeniously combining the speed and scale of artificial intelligence with the irreplaceable authenticity of fresh, human-generated data. By automating the most labor-intensive aspects of the research process while still polling real people, the company is aiming not just to compete with established players but to democratize access to high-quality market intelligence, offering a solution that is both faster and more affordable than legacy methods. This innovative model promises to unlock a new tier of data-driven decision-making for businesses that were previously shut out from the world of bespoke consumer analysis.
A Hybrid Approach to Data Collection
The fundamental challenge Cashew addresses is the inherent inefficiency of conventional market research, a process often taking months and costing tens of thousands of dollars, making it an unfeasible luxury for many emerging brands. On the other end of the spectrum, while Large Language Models (LLMs) offer instantaneous answers, their insights are derived from pre-existing online content, lacking the specificity and novelty required for nuanced product development or targeted marketing campaigns. Cashew’s platform navigates this gap by using AI to streamline the operational framework of research without sacrificing the integrity of the data source. It automates the development of comprehensive research plans, the design of effective surveys, and the subsequent analysis and summarization of the collected data. This AI-driven efficiency drastically reduces both the timeline and the cost, transforming what was once a major capital expenditure into a more accessible operational tool for a wider array of companies seeking to understand their specific customer base with precision and relevance.
At the heart of Cashew’s unique proposition is a steadfast commitment to human-powered data collection, a critical differentiator in an age of automated information retrieval. While artificial intelligence orchestrates the research process, the core insights are still gathered from real individuals who participate in custom-designed surveys. This ensures that every piece of data is fresh, contextually relevant, and directly addresses the client’s unique business questions—a stark contrast to the generalized outputs of LLMs. By automating the application of best practices and data science methodologies, the platform can deliver results in days rather than months. This hybrid model preserves the essential human element that captures current consumer sentiment and behavior, all while leveraging AI to make the entire workflow radically more efficient. The result is a powerful synthesis of technological speed and human authenticity, delivering bespoke market intelligence at a scale and price point that was previously unimaginable for many businesses.
From Inception to Industry Recognition
The impetus for Cashew came from a persistent industry pain point identified by its co-founder and CEO, Addy Graves. With over a decade of experience in the market research sector, Graves repeatedly encountered the immense difficulty of delivering high-quality, human-sourced research projects under increasingly tight deadlines. She recognized that the traditional, manual-heavy processes were simply not equipped to meet the demands of the modern business world. The “aha moment” arrived with the recent advancements in AI, which she saw as the only viable solution to this long-standing dilemma. This insight led to the founding of Cashew in 2023, with a clear mission to harness technology to solve a core operational bottleneck. The company was built on the premise of automating proven methodologies, effectively embedding the expertise of a seasoned research team into a sophisticated, scalable software platform that could finally align the rigor of human data with the velocity of digital business operations.
Cashew Research quickly translated its innovative model into significant industry recognition and strategic momentum. The company earned a coveted spot in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield competition in 2025 and subsequently won the Enterprise Stage pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt, validating its disruptive potential on a global stage. Financially, the startup secured C$1.5 million in pre-seed funding, which has fueled its initial growth and product development. Strategically, Cashew has focused its initial efforts on the consumer packaged goods sector, with clear expansion plans into the B2B market and a concerted push to increase its footprint in the United States. A key element of its long-term competitive advantage was the decision to anonymize all collected data to build a vast, proprietary database. This accumulating asset was designed to enrich future research projects, creating a compounding value proposition and a formidable moat that would become increasingly difficult for competitors to replicate. The company’s planned seed round in early 2026, aiming to raise up to $5 million, signaled its readiness to scale its operations and solidify its position as a new force in business intelligence.
