Luisa Castellanos

Post-pitch story

Andy Freivogel and Luisa Castellanos started Science On Call in 2020 with Ken Tsang to solve a problem every restaurant manager knows: the card reader or tablet stops working during the dinner rush, and there's no one to call. Science On Call offers round-the-clock tech support by text, with AI agents handling a lot of the work. Season 13, Episode 7, titled "AI Agents… for Restaurants," aired in April 2025. At the time of the pitch, the company said it was serving about 900 restaurants. Its website now says more than 1,000 restaurants nationwide rely on it, with customers including &pizza, Primanti Bros., Popeyes, Big Chicken and Alamo Drafthouse. We couldn't find a public funding announcement or confirmation that any of the show's investors put money in, and the customer counts come from the company itself. Still, the direction is clear. Restaurants run on more technology every year, and most can't afford their own IT staff. Getting from 900 to more than 1,000 locations, with well-known brands on the list, suggests Science On Call has found a real need. The next step will be showing it can grow without losing that personal touch.