AI platform aims to reduce audit pressure in the food industry

Pressure on quality teams in the food industry continues to rise. More audits, stricter regulations, and staff shortages are creating bottlenecks. The Flemish start-up AuditQ is responding with an AI platform for quality and audit management. To support further growth, the company raised €875,000.

Funding to support growth in Europe

The capital comes from KBC Focus Fonds, supplemented by a grant from VLAIO. AuditQ has been operational since July 2025 and has already built an initial customer base. Paying customers, in other words. With this investment, the company aims to move forward at pace. Further developing its technology, expanding AI applications, and accelerating its commercial rollout. The focus is on Belgium and Europe.

AuditQ targets quality and environmental teams in the food industry. Not a luxury, as this is where friction often occurs. Many companies still rely on scattered documents and Excel files. That takes time. And increases the risk of errors.

Growing pressure on quality teams

For many food companies, audits keep piling up. Sometimes reaching up to fifteen per year. At the same time, international standards are revised every few years. This makes the work more complex and more demanding. On top of that, experienced quality managers are hard to find. That combination puts pressure on departments.

AuditQ’s platform is designed to change that. It brings audits, internal procedures, and regulations together in one system. Reports are generated automatically, and regulatory changes are continuously monitored. Less manual work, in short.

From reactive to proactive working

According to CEO Yelco Gonzalez, the main gain lies in earlier intervention. “During audits, non-conformities are often identified when it is already too late. That puts pressure on production, reputation, and revenue. With AuditQ, we want to give quality teams earlier insight into potential risks, so they can act faster and spend less time on administration.”

The company states that time spent on audit preparation can be reduced by up to 85%. According to AuditQ, the food industry still lags behind in the digitalization of these processes. That is exactly where the opportunity lies. CTO Matthias Beyens says: “This is the right moment to introduce AI applications into highly regulated and relatively conservative sectors. Willingness in the market is growing. Thanks to the current wave of technology, both management and employees are quickly convinced. They also realize that the traditional way of working is no longer sustainable.”

Auditq.eu