February 2017

MMC Ventures' David Kelnar looks at the dynamics of the UK AI market

With every paradigm shift in technology, waves of innovation follow as companies improve and then reimagine processes. Today we are in the early stages of the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Machine learning algorithms, whose results improve with experience, enable us to find patterns in large data sets and make predictions more effectively — about people, equipment, systems and processes. (For an accessible introduction to AI, read our Primer.) But what are the dynamics of AI entrepreneurship in the UK?

Below, we share six powerful dynamics we see that are shaping the UK AI market— from changing activity levels and areas of focus, to trends in monetisation and the size and staging of investment.

1 February 

The Virtual Technology Cluster Group, which connects small innovative companies with blue chip organisations seeking innovation, is raising capital to support the high growth businesses within its network.

February 2017 

When you’re just starting out, being an entrepreneur can be lonely. The very fact that your job is the business that you have crafted and are passionate about means that you can never quite stop working. The enormous time demands that a business can have when you’re first getting it going can mean that you start to feel isolated. And friends and family may not appreciate the strength of your passion for your start-up – when you’re not an entrepreneur yourself, there’s only so far you can understand the experiences of someone who is.

February 2017

It can be tempting to adopt a Luddite view of crowdfunding websites. “They can simply upload a flurry of presentations and see what sticks.” Yet these platforms have evolved into some of the most effective online matchmakers. 40% of Seedrs and 50% of Crowdcube startups reach their funding goal, while their German peers even score success rates of 90%+ (eg. Seedmatch and Companisto). What then is their winning formula?

@arthurkrebbers

February 2017

On the 17th January, Prime Minister Theresa May outlined 12 objectives sought from a proposed “hard” Brexit. The point that really caught my attention, and that of Britain’s science and tech community was point 10 - keep the UK the best place for science and innovation.

30 January 

Scaling up and not starting up is now the biggest challenge for technology businesses, according to the CEO of Mercia Technologies PLC, one of the most active investors in UK technology.

19 January

From Davos, Richard Muirhead, 3x software entrepreneur and now General Partner, OpenOcean - a European early-stage software company venture firm, says the PM needs to act quickly to put in place a plan around objective 10 - keeping the UK a leader in science and innovation.

17 January

New research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) finds that those diagnosed with hyperactivity, one of the main symptoms of ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - are more likely to be an entrepreneur.

More here

January 2017

Dominic Keen, CEO of High Growth Robotics, asks if this is the year that investment in the robotics sector will reach new heights.

January 2017

Dr Arthur Krebbers asks to what extent investors can really be influeneced by a slick presentation when making investment decisions.

January 2017

Brigitte Baumann is the Founder and CEO of Go Beyond Early Stage Investing  (www.go-beyond.biz), a FinTech company transforming angel investing into a new scalable asset class.  In 2016, she was listed in Europe’s TOP 50 most influential women in the startup and venture capital space and Top Women in FinTech.  Brigitte has 20+ years experience in bringing new technologies to market in the US and Europe. 

Jnauary 2017

Brexit is on its way and “hard” rather than “soft” Brexit seems to be the direction of travel.  There are arguments in favour of this approach.  One big change, as long as we have time to prepare, is not necessarily a bad thing.