I’ve been wanting to write about this for years and interview the team since I invested in their seed round 4yrs ago (Insight led $16M Series A in 2022).Turingis my first and only YC (W20) investment that has been doing Ai before it was cool - specifically vertical Ai helping to accelerate CPG development in a very analogue industry.
Do you have any idea how every products you use on a daily basis are actually developed? Literally scientists in a wet lab with beakers, pippets (remember from high school!?) and centrifuges that takes forever… and very little data or interaction with actual customers.
Iteration is the new innovation.
We love the idea of analog to digital transformations and Turing is a prime example of this. How do you think your new Tide detergent gets formulated and updated or should I say “new and improved!”? It’s literally scientists in labs, experimenting with chemicals, running experiments and kind of hoping it works out. But those scientists are only trying to improve the current product a few % points but aren’t strategists or marketers who would know what the consumer wants to based on previous iterations.
Why fix what ain't broke right? According to a McKinsey study:
“McKinsey analysis of market data indicates that large incumbents represent only 6 to 10 percent of packaged food launches in the US in a typical year (Exhibit 1). Separate Nielsen analysis shows that between 2012 and 2015, the top 25 US food & beverage manufacturers accounted for 45 percent of category sales but only 3 percent of category growth.”
Try teaching “agile” to a bunch of scientists in a research lab that spent countless years perfecting their skills so as not to be rushed. There will be push back, corner-cutting and potential issues in the future by changing the only process they know.
But now imagine withTuring, you can take all of their collective knowledge (even if they left the company) during those countless years, combine it with the ability to do formulations/simulations virtually with tailored Ai, not having to wait for lab results AND consumer insight based on how certain chemicals / ingredients combinations sold historically… that’s powerful!
We like to joke that with Turing, WD40, would be WD4.
40 because it took 40 tries to get the right formula
Questions with the CEO and Product Manager
Q1: Tell us about your backgrounds and what inspired you to start Turing?
Manmit (Founder/CEO):My journey has been deeply rooted in AI, data analytics, and product R&D. Prior to founding Turing, I co-founded Dextro Analytics, working with Fortune 500 companies to transform how they approached product development. I saw how traditional R&D processes, especially in the CPG industry, were slow and reliant on manual work. That’s where the idea for Turing was born—using AI to accelerate product development and make data more actionable for companies.
Oz (Product Manager):My background is in product management and go-to-market strategy. Before joining Turing, I was involved in building AI-driven platforms and bringing them to market in various industries, from oil & gas to consumer products. At Turing, my focus has been on making our AI tools accessible to R&D professionals and formulators. It’s all about turning advanced technology into something that drives tangible, real-world results for our users.
Q2: Turing’s platform uses AI in product development. Can you explain how?
Manmit:Our platform leverages explainable AI to guide product development from concept to commercialization. We’ve built best-in-class algorithms that allow teams to make data-driven decisions with a fraction of the data usually required. Instead of spending months collecting and analyzing data, teams can now move faster, testing their formulations and packaging ideas in real-time and improving efficiency at every stage of the process.
Oz:At Turing Labs, we’re not leveraging AI just for the sake of it; our focus is on solving R&D’s main challenges in product formulation. Luna AI is designed to make the user’s journey seamless and efficient, featuring an interface that feels intuitive to R&D professionals, so AI works seamlessly in the background.
One of the biggest hurdles in R&D today is the costly and time-consuming process of lab experimentation. Generating data becomes problematic, especially when you have to balance this in a volatile market. For example, if you need to replace an ingredient due to supply issues, you often don’t have existing data to guide you. Luna AI addresses this by expediting the learning process, focusing on key objectives while balancing multiple outcomes and constraints.
Q3: What are some of the key benefits your customers are seeing?
Manmit:One of the biggest benefits is speed. Our customers are reducing their development timelines significantly, and that’s allowing them to bring products to market faster than their competitors. They’re also seeing improvements in product quality because they can make more informed decisions earlier in the process. Turing takes out a lot of the guesswork, so companies can focus on innovation and customer satisfaction.
Oz:In addition to speed, there’s a huge collaborative benefit. Our platform allows product teams, engineers, and designers to work together seamlessly in one place, which wasn’t possible before. This improves efficiency and ensures everyone is aligned throughout the development process. It also de-risks digital transformation by giving teams the tools they need to innovate without overhauling their current processes.
Q4: AI and data privacy are big concerns today. How does Turing handle data security?
Oz:Data security is one of our top priorities. We’ve built Turing to comply with the highest industry standards—ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR. This ensures our customers’ data is not only secure but handled with the highest levels of privacy. We continuously invest in making sure that Turing’s platform is safe and that our customers can innovate without concerns about data breaches or misuse.
Q5: Looking forward, what’s next for Turing?
Manmit:We’re focusing on expanding our platform’s capabilities, especially in areas beyond CPG. There are so many industries that can benefit from faster, more data-driven product development, and we believe Turing can help transform them. We’re also continuing to refine our AI models to make them even more intuitive and user-friendly, so companies can make smarter, faster decisions without needing a team of data scientists.
😂 MEME of The Week 😂
Trace Cohen@Trace_Cohen
Trying to get updates from founders who raised in 2021
1 ReplyAlways have an ask!
What product have you used over the years that has actually gotten better?
Intro to outstanding sales person experience selling to enterprise CPG domain (3+ years of experience)
Know anyone that would benefit fromwww.turingsaas.com
FIND ME: 𝕏@Trace_Cohen/inLinkedIn
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