Digital catapult’s Machine Intelligence Garage cohort plan to solve cross-sectoral challenges with versatile AI-powered solutions

Eliminating textile waste and making exam revision more engaging are some of the ways that Digital Catapult’s latest Machine Intelligence Garage cohort plans to diversify the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform industry.

The solutions in development will benefit several sectors beyond sustainability and education, with further plans to revolutionise how UK charities source fundraising data to ensure that time and money is spent on trusted leads.

The programme will also see innovative companies meet demand for AI-powered biometric security solutions which has increased in parity with the growing number of remote workers across the country. The AI solutions in development will look to ensure that an organisation’s data remains safe and secure regardless of employee location.

As part of the programme, seven startups will have the opportunity to enhance their AI-powered technology to solve the most pressing cross-industry problems by working closely with Digital Catapult’s team of AI technologists. Further to this, each company will also benefit from ongoing business mentorship and access to greater computational power.

The Machine Learning Intelligence programme has helped early-stage startups raise over £55 million in investment since its inception in 2017. The latest successful cohort will now have the opportunity to accelerate market growth and positioning, grow their teams, raise investment and develop their product pipeline.

The seven startups are:

• Atera Analytics Ltd. which has built an AI driven approach to model customer journeys based on a richer representation of their interaction evolution. The platform aims to increase conversion rates and build solid loyalty programmes based on clear customer understanding.
• Black Goblin whose aim is to make sound design an easy process for visual experts, disrupting the way sound effects are created and the way creators think and work with audio.
• FARx Group Limited which provides continuous frictionless multi-factor voice and facial biometric authentication for business applications. Specifically, FARx is used by businesses to verify that only authorised employees that are working from home have access to confidential information.
• Fundify whose aim is to address the problem of scattered, incorrect and out-of-date data inhibiting the charity space and inhibiting fundraising activities. The platform sources, validates and references data to ensure its accuracy.
• LIVR which is a unique fully integrated extended reality (XR) platform that controls every stage of the XR process. From content creation, capture, and post-production to systems and technical development, through to end-user distribution.
• Revision.ai whose technology automatically turns educational materials into fun learning quizzes for more effective and enjoyable studying.
• Zori Tex Ltd which is unlocking the value of circular textiles through technology innovations to eliminate textile waste to landfill and incineration.

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

“Versatility is one of the great strengths of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Not only do we see it being an underpinning technology of industry 4.0 in the manufacturing and logistics sectors, but its use cases reach far beyond into the UK’s creative industries, schools, charities and family homes.

While ethical and responsible adoption of AI will need to be inherent in each and every product and solution, the seven innovators joining us at the start of a new year bring an element of excitement and highlight the strength of creative thinking at the heart of the UK’s early-stage tech sector.”