A device that can tackle housing-related health issues, an app to slow the progression of dementia and ownership infrastructure for digital media were all on show at an emerging tech showcase in Edinburgh last week.
The University of Edinburgh’s Venture Builder Incubator (VBI) and AI Accelerator (AIA) programmes combined to present their cohorts of early-stage companies from Scotland and beyond looking for investment.
And over 200 investors, founders and ecosystem partners voted for the companies most likely to make an impact on the world in ten years’ time.
Winner in the AIA health category was Nooku, a Glasgow company with a device that monitors indoor air quality and provides actionable insights to improve it.
Founder Danny Kane, from Glasgow, whose six-year-old son has asthma, said:
In the UK, we spend 90% of our time indoors where the air is up to 5 times more polluted than outside, often because of poor building design, which results in insufficient ventilation and leads to issues like dampness and mould. Shockingly, the UK now has the third highest asthma rate in the world.
Our device analyses the air quality and the app uses AI to sync with building information and occupant health data to provide tailored advice actionable insights. These could range from improving ventilation, to choosing less toxic cleaning products, or even just shutting the kitchen door when you cook to prevent harmful pollutants spreading through your home. ”
Nooku is already on sale via retailers like Curry’s and B&Q, and is looking for £1.5m to roll out to the US next year.
Winner of the Wildcard category was Leafstory, an AI character that converses with dementia sufferers to help build up their memory bank and slow disease progression. And University of Edinburgh startup SolarSub won the climate action category for its innovative cooling system that improves the efficiency and sustainability of floating solar panels.
VBI companies pitching included winner Garandor, which is addressing the challenge of AI and creative copyright with a solution combining invisible watermarking, misuse detection and automated enforcement to provide rights holders with control, attribution and compensation.
Qinara boggled minds with their products to integrate quantum into classical AI models for businesses. And Broonie won in the education category for their safe AI for schools.
Alumni of the two programmes have raised a combined £144 million in grant funding and investment so far.
Claire Cramm, investment manager at venture capital fund Par Equity, who participated in a panel at the event, said:
Fostering investment in the most promising early-stage companies across the north of the UK is key to building the next generation of high-growth businesses. Events like the AIA and VBI Showcase play an important role in connecting investors with emerging technologies that have the potential to scale and make a real impact. ”
The programmes are run in partnership between the Bayes Centre, the University of Edinburgh’s AI and Data Science Innovation Hub, and Edinburgh Innovations (EI), its commercialisation service.
Professor Ruth King, director of the Bayes Centre, said:
The AIA and VBI programmes excel in supporting early-stage companies and founders to address important societal challenges. They provide tailored support with essential connections to the wider tech ecosystem, including the mentoring they need from entrepreneurs-in-residence David Farquhar and Richard Lennox. ”
Dr Andrea Taylor, CEO of EI, said:
Growing innovative, high-quality startups and spinouts takes tenacity and energy from founders, and support from entrepreneurial campuses like Edinburgh’s, as well as the broader Scottish ecosystem, including investors willing to take a risk. ”
Find out more and apply for AI Accelerator’s new cohort by May 18
