Written by Katy Guthrie of Edinburgh Innovations

The launch

The end of September saw the launch of a new cohort of companies taking part in the Data Driven Entrepreneurship AI Accelerator programme. Exciting times – we were able to launch face to face in the Bayes Centre and it was awesome! Even the unplanned fire alarm and last minute panic to make name badges didn’t dampen the excitement. Who knew that real people don’t have a name displayed on them the way they do on a Zoom screen?

The programme aims to scale the 12 companies taking part by developing their entrepreneurial skills and bringing them together with people and organisations who can help. My role is Programme Manager on the AI Accelerator and it is what it says on the tin. My job basically consists of building the cohort, mentoring them, organising all the activities, connecting the companies with mentors and more.

Variety and innovation

The sheer variety of innovative applications of AI to solve real world problems is what really interests me about my role. I get particularly excited when we see use cases in industries that are perhaps not traditionally seen as technologically advanced – for example, one of the companies, Pulcea, is using AI and acoustics to improve efficiency and welfare in salmon farming while reducing the levels of pesticides needed. Another - GIGGED.ai - is disrupting the recruitment sector to improve talent searches and help freelancers find good work. A long overdue innovation! Novel applications of AI to create totally new business propositions is also another aspect that excites me. An example of this is Aistetic; their product uses a body scanning app on your smart phone to help customers of online clothing companies get the right size first time, saving that annoying chore of having to return them – and saving the retailers money.            

The programme

I worked as programme manager for the first cohort of the DDE AI Accelerator and I will certainly be tracking the ongoing successes of the companies who took part - one of our alumni was recently seen sharing a stage with Rishi Sunak.  It was great to have a few of the old faces along to our welcome day to share some of their experience with the new cohort. There are many lessons I’ll be bringing to this second programme; we’ll be building on the success of the first one at the same time as tweaking some elements. Of course, each programme is unique, as the companies are all looking for slightly different things from the accelerator; some come with great tech but less business experience whereas others have specific technology needs which they’re looking to address. Our approach places a big emphasis on 1-1 coaching to help them develop and meet their individual needs, and our group activities are an excellent way for them to get to know their fellow companies and learn from each other. I really enjoy seeing founders have those lightbulb moments – for example, when they change their investment strategy or rethink their approach to sales conversations. I also love seeing some of the transfer between the cohort – sometimes someone’s bad experiences can actually be put to good use providing useful pointers on pitfalls to avoid for their fellow companies.   

Although each company is different, working with the University of Edinburgh is a fairly big draw for all of them - for the broad talent pipeline and the possibilities of academic collaboration amongst other things. In our first month, we have a session on value proposition; we’ll be introducing the cohort to the Data-Driven Innovation hubs and running design thinking training and 1-1s with our partner, NileHQ. We will also get started on our investor focus with 1-1s and pitch practice. I’m probably most excited by our planned trip to London where we’ll be hosted by our other partner Scale Space in their White City campus for a series of activities including an early showcase of the companies to the Scale Space community. 

Personally, I’m looking forward to getting to know the companies better and being part of their journey. Welcoming everyone in person was a fantastic start!

Get involved

If you want to know more about the programme or get involved – you can contact me on katy.guthrie@ei.ed.ac.uk.