Agorai, an integrated marketplace for artificial intelligence (AI) tools and the data assets that fuel them, is announcing it has committed to invest £20 million in the UK AI market. The investment will help accelerate the economic benefits that can be generated by leveraging the power of AI and its ability to transform society and positively impact the UK economy. The multi-year investment announced today will be distributed over the next five years. It will span the AI ecosystem by focusing on three key areas: education, empowerment, and entrepreneurship.

• Education: Agorai will seek to accelerate AI education and research, helping the UK become an AI research hotspot. Specifically, Agorai will invest in education by providing grants and software licenses to universities and research centres across the UK.
• Empowerment: Access to AI should not be restricted to large businesses alone. Agorai will work to encourage and empower the UK’s small and medium sized businesses to access AI. A programme of workshops will ensure they have the requisite information to apply AI to their business. Agorai will provide two-week workshops, free of charge, to approximately 150 companies per year. It is hoped this will help accelerate AI adoption across the UK.
• Entrepreneurship: Agorai will launch an AI Accelerator in London providing funds to entrepreneurs, the lifeblood of an economy, seeking to build AI powered solutions designed to improve and transform industries. Start-up companies selected to take part in the Accelerator will enjoy access to top business leaders and AI experts, financial funding, and receive allotments of Agorai licenses. The firms can then develop and deploy their software solutions on the Agorai platform, taking full advantage of the resources, assets and latest technology innovations available through the AI and Data marketplaces to help create a global ecosystem of AI innovators.

“This is a vote of confidence in the UK. AI has the potential to add 10% to UK GDP by 2030 if adoption is widespread, and our investment in the UK AI market shows our commitment to helping make this a reality. The UK has already established itself as a leader in AI research which made it a natural choice for this investment as we accelerate the application of AI to real world business challenges,” said Josh Sutton, CEO at Agorai. “Agorai’s mission is to give all participants in the AI ecosystem access to the widest range of AI tools and data sources. This investment will help us encourage innovation, education, and knowledge transfer as we work with the global AI community to ensure AI has a positive business and social impact.”

To help drive this initiative, Agorai has appointed Sir George Zambellas, the former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, to their Board of Directors. Sir George has had a career in the military spanning almost 40 years. He has direct experience in the promotion of technical investment in autonomous systems, data exploitation and artificial intelligence, and with proven leadership in the cyber-security and robotics industry, Sir George will be instrumental in strengthening relations within the industry and serve as an ambassador of Agorai’s commitment to the UK and globally.

“The British Government is committed to creating a powerful tripartite between business, academia and Government. It needs industry and experts to work together to establish a UK AI Council to accelerate AI utility. At Agorai we share all these ambitions, and we’re committed to creating opportunities for young talent to learn incredible new skills. Agorai will create the chance for contributors and users to share applications and data assets, to nurture the global AI ecosystem, to innovate, and to grip AI responsibility for the better. I am extremely excited to join the Agorai team and help drive the success of this extraordinary initiative” said Sir George Zambellas.