Automated Intelligence raises £1.5m investment
Automated Intelligence (AI) has announced it has raised £1.5 million investment. The investment comprises of £1m from The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI), with the remainder provided by an existing private investor.
Currently employing 65 people, this round of funding will enable AI to expand into new geographical markets, building upon the success the company has achieved over the past seven years.
AI CEO, Mark Godfrey, said, “Next year a new European-wide data protection regulation will come into force (GDPR) which is the biggest data protection change in almost 20 years. This is an exciting time for AI when we are seeing an unparalleled level of interest in our GDPR compliance solutions.
“This significant investment will allow us to market these world-leading products and services to organisations of all sizes who need to achieve GDPR compliance. Working alongside Microsoft, we will help organisations understand, and take control of, all the information they hold regardless of where it is.”
The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI) was designed to help SMEs in Northern Ireland to accelerate their growth.
Invest Northern Ireland has committed £15m of funding to this fund which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
Allen Martin, Partner at Kernel Capital, said, “AI has an impressive and ambitious management team that has successfully engineered and deployed a suite of products that help customers to manage the exponential growth in digital data. Against a backdrop of new regulatory data requirements we look forward to supporting the team at AI as they seek to further grow their team in Belfast and scale internationally.”
AI is a leading Microsoft Gold Partner with over 100 national and global Blue Chip, Central and Local Government customers.
Established in 2010 by Mark Godfrey (CEO) and Simon Cole (CTO), Automated Intelligence solutions provide deep analysis on information quickly and accurately, categorising the data before securely moving valuable content to productivity platforms such as Microsoft Office365.
In line with GDPR requirements which come into effect next year, the company’s software automatically enforces appropriate governance across all content to reduce cost, legal and reputational risk while simultaneously improving organisational productivity.
William McCulla, Invest NI’s Director of Corporate Finance, said, “Our suite of Access to Finance funds provides a range of support to help SMEs with high growth potential to scale quickly. The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund is an important element of this suite and it is encouraging to see companies like Automated Intelligence use the fund to drive exports in global markets.”
Gavin Kennedy, Head of Business Banking, Bank of Ireland UK, said, “Through our partnership with Kernel Capital, we are delighted to support AI as they embark on the next stage of their growth plans. The ability to securely and accurately manage digital data is of paramount importance to companies across the globe and once again, a Northern Ireland based company is delivering innovative solutions.”
