Digital Catapult’s latest AI cohort to address energy costs

Future generations are set to benefit from AI solutions whose pledges range from reducing commercial energy bills by 20%, to providing access to immersive cricket training.

The latest cohort announced as part of Digital Catapult’s Machine Intelligence Garage programme exhibits the  breadth of UK digital solutions adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to solve modern day industrial and societal issues.

With rising energy costs squeezing budgets like never before,, the most recent cohort of innovative startups includes one company deploying AI in the construction sector, eliminating wasted energy in buildings to reduce electricity bills by more than 20%.

Some programme participants focus on solving urgent industrial challenges, like finding new materials to accelerate the transition to net zero, while others look to make every day lives easier, whether it’s helping content creators to optimise video for social media, to providing automated note taking for professional services organisations.

Machine Intelligence Garage helps early-stage businesses access the computation power and expertise they need to develop and build AI/ML solutions, something that’s often inaccessible to startups. Launched in 2017, the programme has supported more than 100 startups to raise over £52 million investment. 

The 14 companies joining the Machine Intelligence Garage are:

• Affiniti AI Limited – enabling professional services users to generate and annotate high quality conversational notes

• Atheras Analytics – partnered with the European Space Agency, using AI software to optimise satellite high frequency communications for high speed broadband

• Cerebriam Studio – patent pending technology to automatically optimise photo and video content for a variety of social media platforms

• Cover Drive Cricket – eliminating barriers to cricket coaching, training and practice through virtual reality (VR) simulation and real-time AI data analysis

• Find Me Sales – helping small businesses with AI-led research and automation tools to distil the sales process into manageable actions

• Keptika – first AI platform to provide automated measurements and assessment of psychotherapy dialogues in easy to read visual formats

• Materials Nexus – using AI to accelerate the transition to net zero materials by speeding-up discovery and development times of new materials

• measurable.energy – eliminating wasted energy in buildings to prevent unnecessary CO2 emissions and reduce electricity bills by 20%+. Already used by Kier Group

• NeuralSpace, Inc. – bridging global language gaps by deploying speech and text models in more than 80 languages

• No Ghost Limited – using a machine learning based approach to enhance and speed up the process of creating 2D animation. Clients already include HSBC, Wimbledon and The Guardian, having also previously been supported by Digital Catapult on the Verizon 5G Retail Accelerator

• Rewire – building socially responsible AI for online safety by using AI to fight hate and abuse through content moderation

• The Virtual Reality Hive – transforming online learning by harnessing AI and immersive technologies to provide adaptive learning environments with instant feedback

• Vanellus Technologies – developing machine learning techniques to yield a 1000x increase in the computational efficiency of fluid simulations used by engineers and scientists globally

• Vision Intelligence – provides visibility across all manual operations in factories to improve human productivity, automate traceability and accelerate skill transfer

Robert Smith, Director of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Catapult commented:

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning are no longer just science fiction and overhyped headlines. Solutions that innovative UK startups are developing address real problems for the benefit of individuals, families and businesses.

“At a time when everyone is watching what they spend, and climate change is the most pressing concern, the development of AI to help keep costs down while reducing wasted energy is particularly encouraging. 

“Overall, the incredible variety of work undertaken by our latest MIG cohort helps to envision a world where people’s lives are sustainably enriched by ubiquitous, practical AI applications. These startups are tirelessly developing a better future, and I’m proud that we at Digital Catapult can help.”