From HACCP to Halal: Smobler Takes Vertical AI Food Compliance Push to LEAP 2026

Singapore technology company in Riyadh to explore extending Robin AI's food-compliance capabilities across ASEAN and MENA

SINGAPORE and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore-founded technology company Smobler is exploring the expansion of Robin AI, a platform originally developed to help Hawaiʻi food entrepreneurs navigate U.S. food-safety requirements, toward Halal compliance workflows across Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Smobler Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Mridhul Pax will be in Riyadh for LEAP 2026, August 31–September 3, meeting partners across food technology, enterprise AI and digital trade.

The move reflects Smobler's broader bet on vertical AI: as access to increasingly capable AI models becomes ubiquitous, competitive advantage will shift toward specialised applications solving expensive, persistent and industry-specific problems.

From Recipe to Market
Smobler launched Robin AI in Hawaiʻi in June 2026 to address a challenge familiar to small food producers: turning a recipe into a market-ready product requires navigating complex regulatory and food safety requirements.

Developed with Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center and Leeward Community College, Robin helps early-stage food and beverage entrepreneurs generate draft nutrition labels and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food-safety plans. The platform is designed to support food safety specialists and regulatory authorities. 

Smobler is exploring how that approach could extend to AI-assisted Halal compliance workflows across ASEAN and Middle East and North Africa (MENA), regions connected by significant food trade and Muslim consumer demand.

Any future system would similarly support recognised Halal certification authorities, qualified auditors and human decision-makers. 

"We want to help small producers navigate compliance more efficiently and reduce friction between creating a product and reaching a market." Chen said. "The most interesting technologies scale globally because the underlying problem is widespread and travels."

Building an Asia–Gulf Technology Corridor
Food compliance forms part of Smobler's wider move toward applied AI and digital infrastructure built around specific industry workflows.

The company is also developing Forage AI, focused on business-to-business food trade through AI-enabled workflows, verified networks and embedded financial infrastructure. Smobler is also exploring blockchain-enabled maritime infrastructure for bunkering, documentation and transactions.

Saudi Arabia's investment in AI, logistics and digital infrastructure makes the Gulf particularly relevant to this strategy.

Smobler sees broader opportunity connecting Southeast Asia and the Gulf: adapting technologies and operating knowledge between markets rather than simply exporting software from one region to another.

"The Middle East opportunity isn't interesting simply because AI investment is booming," Chen said. "There are real problems at the intersection of food, trade, logistics and technology where our Asia-Pacific experience may be useful and we have to learn from regional partners."

For Pax, the opportunity lies beyond AI demonstrations.

"Everyone can build an AI demo now," Pax said. "The difficult part starts afterwards. Can the system be trusted? Is it economical to operate? Does it integrate into the industry? That last mile between an impressive prototype and reliable infrastructure is where we spend much of our time."

Smobler at LEAP 2026
Smobler is seeking pilot, technology and commercial partners across food technology and trade, AI infrastructure and enterprise automation, logistics and maritime technology, as well as investment and innovation ecosystems. 

Organisations interested in meeting Mridhul Pax in Riyadh or discussing a potential pilot can contact [email protected].

About Smobler

Smobler is a Singapore-founded applied AI and frontier technology company turning emerging technology into real-world operating advantage. Its work spans food systems, enterprise operations and digital trade, including Robin AI, food-trade technology, enterprise AI applications and blockchain-enabled maritime solutions.

Smobler participates in the Meta Llama APAC Incubator and NVIDIA Inception technology ecosystems and works across Singapore, Asia-Pacific and the United States. 

Intelligence, applied.

For media & partnership enquiries, please email [email protected] or log onto www.smobler.io

Contact:
Loretta Chen
[email protected]
808 990 8300

SOURCE Smobler