She Took On TikTok at IG, Was Tinder's CTO. Now this Founder is Betting on AI’s Next Big Opportunity

Maria Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Palona AI, shares how her experience at Tinder, Meta and Google shaped her approach to artificial intelligence. Zhang is applying what she learned building technology at scale to help restaurants use AI to improve operations and hospitality.

Watch now to learn why Maria Zhang left Big Tech, why she chose restaurants and how AI can help operators save time and capture opportunities.

Sponsored by:

• TOAST AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Chapters:

[04:46] - Helping Instagram Take On TikTok

[06:25] - Why AI Was the “Secret Sauce”

[11:37] - Bringing AI to Restaurants

[12:22] - 350 Calls on Father’s Day

[14:18] - Building an AI Catering Manager

SPONSORS:

RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

• Toast AllIn1 Restaurant POS

PEPSICO IS A SPONSOR OF THE RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS PODCAST —

Restaurant Influencers is proud to have PepsiCo as a sponsor of this episode. Partnering with PepsiCo Foodservice helps restaurant operators drive sustainable growth through smarter digital experiences, AI-backed menu optimization, and tools designed to create more profitable online orders.

Check out PepsiCo Foodservice

Episode Links:

Maria Zhang LinkedIn

Palona AI LinkedIn

Palona AI Instagram

Palona AI YouTube

Adweek Article on AI at Restaurants

Key Takeaways:

AI Can Solve Problems at Scale: Maria Zhang saw firsthand how AI could power recommendations, matching and personalization at companies like Tinder and Meta. She believes the current wave of generative and agentic AI could have an even greater impact.

Restaurants Have More Opportunities Hiding in Plain Sight: When Palona AI answered roughly 350 calls for Cali BBQ on Father’s Day, Zhang says takeout orders doubled and the restaurant finished with 18% year-over-year top-line growth. The test showed how much business can be missed when busy employees cannot answer every call.

Give Restaurant Teams More Time for Hospitality: Zhang sees AI as a way to handle repetitive work without distracting employees from the guests in front of them. From phone calls to catering inquiries, her goal is to let technology handle tasks that can pull restaurant teams away from taking care of customers.

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ABOUT MARIA ZHANG —

Maria Zhang is co-founder and CEO of Palona AI, building AI technology for restaurants and other physical businesses. A longtime technology leader, Zhang previously served as CTO of Tinder and held senior engineering and AI roles at Google, Meta, Instagram, LinkedIn and Yahoo. Today, she is applying her experience building technology at scale to help restaurants use AI across customer service, catering and operations.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —

Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast co-founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media

Produced by Cali BBQ Media