{"id":28321,"date":"2018-11-12T10:41:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T15:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/can-ai-help-tyson-foods-lead-the-protein-revolution\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T13:44:44","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T18:44:44","slug":"can-ai-help-tyson-foods-lead-the-protein-revolution","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/can-ai-help-tyson-foods-lead-the-protein-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Can AI Help Tyson Foods Lead The Protein Revolution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyson Foods is one of the world\u2019s largest meat producer. Yet Tyson increasingly describes itself as a protein company, rather than a meat company.<\/a>[i]<\/a> The Good Food Institute claims that while plant-based meat represents only 1% of the overall protein market, it grew by 23% last year and will continue to increase rapidly.<\/a>[ii]<\/a> This is becoming an increasingly mainstream view, as the protein alternative industry has attracted investors such as Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, and Eric Schmidt. To seize a portion of the plant-based upside, Tyson opened a venture capital fund in 2016 that quickly acquired a five percent stake in Beyond Meat, the producer of the Beyond Burger, a plant-based burger sold in thousands of restaurants and grocery stores across the world.<\/a>[iii]<\/a> Noel White, Tyson\u2019s new CEO, recently acknowledged to the Wall Street Journal that \u201cthe marketplace is changing, and we have to change with it.\u201d<\/a>[iv]<\/a><\/p>\n

As the firm strives to redefine itself from simply being about \u201cmeat\u201d to being a protein company more broadly it may want to consider investing in internal artificial intelligence capabilities, as early signs suggest that algorithms will disrupt the future of protein production. NotCo, a Chilean startup, uses a proprietary machine learning algorithm to create new plant-based recipes that mimic animal-based products. NotCo \u201cmapped 7,000 plants\u2026 for their amino acetic structures\u2026that looked like animal-based proteins\u201d<\/a>[v]<\/a> and runs that information through its algorithm to predict viable vegan replacements for animal-based products. This reduces the product development cycle by minimizing wasted efforts. Not Mayo\u00ae, perhaps the company\u2019s most famous product, is now available in every Chilean Walmart.<\/a>[vi]<\/a> Having thousands of plants mapped means that there are effectively an infinite number of possible recipes available to the startup. Without the technology to prioritize R&D efforts, Tyson may find itself behind the protein innovation curve.<\/p>\n

In addition to its venture capital arm, Tyson is mitigating the risk of disruption by making significant investments in technology, and has publicly acknowledged plans to develop computer vision systems and other technologies that will improve efficiency (e.g., lower water usage).<\/a>[vii]<\/a> Other moves, such as a recent investment in Jerusalem-based Future Meat Technologies,<\/a>[viii]<\/a> a clean meat company trying to produce slaughter-free meat at scale, highlight that Tyson is actively seeking new ways to grow and protect its business. Yet there is little available publicly to suggest that the company is using AI to redefine how protein will be produced.<\/p>\n

To a degree, this is understandable. While Tyson uses various technologies to improve its core business, it may prefer to leave the dramatic innovations to outside companies. If Tyson felt truly threatened by small companies like NotCo, it could use its venture capital arm to invest in the market and thus gain a portion of the upside. Its investments in Beyond Meat, Future Meat Technologies, and other similar firms suggests this is the company\u2019s strategy. But this presents tremendous risks. In Detroit, after years of ignoring a trend towards autonomous vehicles, carmakers now publicly worry that the bulk of future mobility profits will flow to the makers and owners of software (e.g., Alphabet\u2019s Waymo) while the car manufacturers merely produce the hardware. <\/a>[ix]<\/a> Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota, told the Wall Street Journal that he seems this threat as \u201ca matter of surviving or dying.\u201d<\/a>[x]<\/a> Could this happen in protein production, where the bulk of profits flow to recipe designers, not ingredient producers?<\/p>\n

Starting to build an in-house algorithm \u2013 or at least purchasing one outright \u2013 could reposition Tyson to lead the protein revolution as opposed to relying on its venture capital portfolio and others\u2019 innovations.<\/p>\n

I have two main questions about my arguments above:<\/p>\n