Wendy’s FreshAi platform founder Michael Chorey takes on Co-Founder and President role at Presto IQ

Drive-thru voice AI specialist, Presto, reports that Michael Chorey, the founder of Wendy’s FreshAi platform, has joined the company to build Presto IQ, pitched as the first AI native dynamic data offering for the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry.

“I’m thrilled to become a Prestonian at such an exciting time for both the industry and the company. I’ve known the Presto team for a long time and admire their pioneering vision as well as their understanding of the restaurant industry,” says Chorey.

“I have deep experience conceptualising and bringing AI to life in an enterprise restaurant setting, but I have always believed personalisation is the key to unlocking even more value for all stakeholders. I build for the parent in the drive-thru, the crew member on their first shift, and the operator trying to make a thousand decisions. The Presto team is the only one that shares this vision, and I'm excited to bring Presto IQ to market.”

“In order to deliver AI to restaurants, you need deep restaurant industry experience, and Mike is one of the few leaders in the QSR space who understands the big picture and also how to operationalise it at the ground level,” says Krishna Gupta, Co-founder at Presto.

“Through his work with Wendy’s, Mike adds to the 100+ years of restaurant experience of our leadership team and is a major asset for our company. Having spent more than a decade in voice AI, I’m excited about the opportunity we have today to take the recent advances in AI, marry them with our market leadership, and bring Presto IQ to all industry players as a first of its kind offering.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

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