Norwegian-Portuguese tech innovator Nortech AI announced that it has secured  €2.5M in a seed round of funding from Indico Capital Partners and Earlybird-X.

With the funding, Nortech AI seeks to push the maritime industry’s transition from reactive to proactive use of data, catalysing a new era of cost savings and environmental conservation through reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The AI company discovered its niche as the maritime industry began addressing the lack of connected information systems and the waste of resources in recent years.

Embracing a smarter maritime industry

The maritime industry has been one of the most consumptive industries in the world in terms of fuel consumption. It used approximately 202.5 million metric tons of fuel of differing types in 2020, including heavy and light fuel oil, diesel/gas oil, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

As the maritime industry begins shifting to light fuel oil, the need for advanced AI technology to track the fuel’s usage becomes increasingly in demand. 

Dubbed “maritime informatics”, the industry recognises a need for IT-powered collaboration that enhances operations, satisfies the client’s demands for transparency, and addresses societal concerns.

Popular uses of AI in the maritime industry include optimising navigation and routes, estimating fuel consumption with higher accuracy, maintaining equipment and vessels, and procuring real-time information on port density and traffic.

Michael Schmitt, a partner at Earlybird-X, says, “Industrial IoT is a critical conduit for streamlined, intelligent, and sustainable operations. Nortech AI simplifies the digitalisation journey, empowering industries to become more data-driven without hassle.”

Utilising AI for shipping operations

Nortech AI uses a plug-and-play solution to offer remote commissioning and capture and use industrial IoT data to its clients. 

Vessels and their respective businesses can speed up their digital initiatives to make real-time decisions and enhance their operations. The solution works by scalable data models – built with live operational data and simulation data – where templates developed from successful proofs-of-concept can be contextualised and reused to solve many use cases with the same model.

When using Nortech AI’s services, clients from the shipping industry can track their vessels’ hull and propeller performance, slip, carbon intensity index, trim, and fuel performance levels.

Ultimately, the startup aims to interconnect various industrial needs from data analytics to process automation. Nortech AI will also expand the use of its platform and products in other industries thanks to the assistance from its latest funding round.

Stephan Morais, managing general partner at Indico Capital Partners, says, “The maritime industry is ripe for the implementation of software that helps it become more sustainable.”

“Nortech’s software is fast to integrate with existing systems onboard and therefore allows ships’ operations to become more sustainable immediately. We are proud to be supporting this transition of the global maritime industry with our Blue Fund.”

Holstebro, Denmark-based Creative Force, an end-to-end creative operations workflow platform, announced that it has raised $8.9M (approximately €8.4M) in a Series A round of funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $17.9M (approximately €16.9M). 

The investment comes from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) and Hearst Ventures, the global venture capital division of Hearst. 

Creative Force says it will use the funding to scale its Danish headquarters and new US office in Boston.

Elaborating on the expansion plan to Silicon Canals, Thomas Kragelund, CEO and co-founder of Creative Force, says, “Specifically, we’re targeting strategic growth in key markets like the UK, DACH, the Nordics, France and Spain. Each market presents unique opportunities, and we’re excited to deepen our collaborations with brands and retailers there.”

The company also aims to integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform to enable retailers and brands to leverage the capabilities of AI in their creative workflows. 

What does Creative Force solve?

Historically, brands have outsourced content production to multiple vendors or struggled to handle it internally. 

The workflow to produce creative content includes everything from conducting numerous photo shoots, producing videos, scanning product sample barcodes, creating 3D models, copywriting, internal and external coordination, booking models, art direction, editorial oversight, file management, post-production, retailer or channel signoff, and more.

Here’s where Creative Forces comes into play.

Creative Force: Workflow platform for eCommerce content production 

Founded in 2019, Creative Force is a cloud-based workflow platform that helps large brands and studios create new content quickly, launch products faster, and avoid errors, manual data entry, and reshoots. 

The company claims the platform improves communication and collaboration throughout the entire content production process, maintains high quality and consistency, and increases efficiency by at least 30 per cent.  

The Creative Force platform also easily integrates with popular creative software, including Capture One, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Adobe Workfront. 

On working with European clients, Kragelund says, “Being a Danish company, we already have some great relationships with European customers, and 45 per cent of our sales are in Europe. Current customers include European retailers and brands like boohoo (UK), Debenhams (UK), OTTO (Germany), Breuninger (Germany), PVH (Netherlands), Scotch and Soda (Netherlands), J.Lindeberg (Sweden), Marc O’Polo (Sweden/Germany).” 

Creative Force handled more than 10M creative assets through its platform in the past year alone and has been quietly building its technology and working with some of the world’s biggest brands.

“We’ve been actively growing our European sales and customer success teams to support our growth and provide the best service possible to our European clients. I believe having team members in the regions we support is important. That way, our team understands the local needs and challenges (and sometimes even speaks the local language). This allows us to add genuine value for our customers,” adds Kragelund. 

What the investors say

Hearst Ventures makes strategic investments in companies operating at the intersection of media, information, and technology. It is a global investment group with offices in NYC, London, Beijing, and Tel Aviv.

The VC’s notable investments include Via Transportation, Buzzfeed, Roku, Sling Media, HootSuite, Brightcove, E Ink, Pandora, and XM Satellite Radio.

“Creative Force is poised to reshape the landscape of e-commerce content creation. The company’s goal of empowering creative teams to transition from cost centers to value-add contributors within their enterprises, amplified by AI innovation that is mindful of the rights of IP holders, promises an exciting future where brands and retailers can drive sales increases and enhance customer experiences in an increasingly digital world,” says Megumi Ikeda, managing director at Hearst Ventures. 

The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) provides a single point of access for Danish companies as well as for their foreign and domestic business partners who need risk-tolerant government capital

“EIFO is expanding investment to growth-stage tech companies. We have a longstanding relationship with the seasoned entrepreneurs at Creative Force, and this fuels our confidence in the company’s growth potential,” says Jacob Bratting Pedersen, partner at EIFO.

The United Kingdom government announced on Monday, October 16, a Fairness Innovation Challenge to address bias and discrimination in artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The challenge invites UK-based companies to apply for government investment of up to £400,000 to fund innovative new solutions aimed at eradicating bias from AI technologies. 

The competition aims to support up to three groundbreaking projects, each potentially securing a funding boost of up to £130,000. 

This initiative aligns with the UK’s commitment to hosting the world’s first major AI Safety Summit where dialogues will revolve around managing the risks associated with AI while maximising its potential for the benefit of the British people.

The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, operating under the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, has initiated the Fairness Innovation Challenge’s first round of submissions. The challenge aims to encourage the development of novel techniques to embed fairness in the creation of AI models.

The primary goal is to counter the threats posed by bias and discrimination by encouraging innovative approaches. 

AI model developers are urged to consider a broader social context immediately.

UK Government emphasising fairness in AI

Fairness in AI systems is one of the fundamental principles laid out in the UK government‘s AI Regulation White Paper. 

AI is a powerful tool for good, presenting near limitless opportunities to grow the global economy and deliver better public services.

In the UK, AI is already being trialled within the National Health Service (NHS) to aid clinicians in identifying cases of breast cancer, and it holds great potential in developing new drugs and treatments and addressing global challenges like climate change. 

However, these opportunities can only be fully realised by addressing and rectifying issues related to bias and discrimination in AI systems.

Minister for AI, Viscount Camrose, says, “The opportunities presented by AI are enormous, but to fully realise its benefits we need to tackle its risks.”

“This funding puts British talent at the forefront of making AI safer, fairer, and trustworthy. By making sure AI models do not reflect bias found in the world, we can not only make AI less potentially harmful, but ensure the AI developments of tomorrow reflect the diversity of the communities they will help to serve,” adds Camrose.

Although several technical bias audit tools are available in the market, many of them are developed in the United States. 

While companies can use these tools to identify potential biases in their systems, they often fail to align with UK laws and regulations, says the government.  

Focus areas of the challenge

The challenge promotes a fresh UK-led approach that emphasises the social and cultural context in AI systems in addition to the technical considerations.

The challenge will focus on two main areas:

First one involves a partnership with King’s College London, where participants from the UK’s AI sector will work on mitigating bias in their generative AI models. These models, developed in collaboration with Health Data Research UK and the support of NHS AI Lab, are trained on anonymised records of over 10 million patients to predict potential health outcomes.

The second challenge is a call for ‘open use cases,’ where applicants can propose novel solutions tailored to address bias in their unique AI models and specific focus areas. It includes combating fraud, building new law enforcement AI tools, or assisting employers in creating fairer systems for analysing and shortlisting candidates during recruitment.

Companies currently face a range of challenges in tackling AI bias, including insufficient access to data on demographics and ensuring potential solutions meet legal requirements. 

The CDEI is working in close partnership with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to deliver this Challenge. 

The Fairness Innovation Challenge closes for submissions at 11am on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, with successful applicants notified of their selection on January 30, 2024.

Italy-based Aindo, a generative AI startup, announced that it has raised €6M in a Series A round of funding led by United Ventures. 

Existing investor Vertis SGR also participated in the round through the VErtis Venture 3 Technology Transfer. 

Aindo’s mission is to make AI more valuable and privacy-friendly. The company aims to lead in synthetic data and revolutionise data mobility, which means sharing information securely with a focus on privacy. 

This funding will help Aindo expand its team and develop AI solutions for healthcare, finance, and public administration.

“We’re thrilled to announce this new funding round, which will fuel our growth at a crucial phase of the company’s development,” says Daniele Panfilo, co-founder and CEO of Aindo.

“Most organisations possess valuable structured information stored within their databases that cannot be used due to privacy protection. Creating synthetic data with generative AI solves that: the data Aindo regenerates behaves similarly to real data while fully protecting individuals’ privacy,” adds Panfilo.

Giulia Giovannini, partner at United Ventures, shared the excitement of this investment as she believes Aindo can answer the problems that the AI revolution may face.

“The AI revolution still faces many obstacles, including data inaccessibility, long processing times, privacy concerns, and ethical issues related to data collection. Synthetic data is an answer to these problems,” says Giovannini.

“We believe that Daniele [Aindo’s CEO and co-founder] and his team have the right ambition to scale the platform internationally in the field of synthetic data, and we are excited to contribute to this round, as our very first investment from UV3, United Ventures recently launched fund,” adds Giovannini.

What Aindo’s innovation offers

Aindo’s technology generates synthetic data – artificially generated data that can train machine learning models without needing real-world data. It is created using algorithms and can be tailored to specific needs, making it a valuable tool for data scientists and Machine Learning (ML) developers. 

With synthetic data, AI can be used in high-impact social and business areas, such as healthcare research and financial markets.

According to Gartner, synthetic data is an emerging trend in AI. They project that by 2024, approximately 60 per cent of the data employed in AI initiatives will be artificially generated, a significant jump from the mere 1 per cent observed in 2021. 

Grand View Research forecasts that the global synthetic data market will reach €1.79 billion by 2030.

“In the coming years, the demand for synthetic data will be ubiquitous for all sectors relying heavily on data, particularly in healthcare, finance, and insurance,” says Roberto Della Marina, operating partner of Vertis SGR and managing partner of Venture Factory.

“Aindo’s technology has the potential to impact millions of people’s lives,” Marina adds.

Utilising synthetic data

In the healthcare sector, synthetic data is used to train AI models necessary for creating prognostic and predictive tools. These tools enhance disease diagnostics and treatment across various medical conditions.

In the financial sector, synthetic data plays a pivotal role in crafting tailored solutions and services. For example, developers can use synthetic to construct accurate risk prediction models that identify patterns and behaviours associated with the risk of financial challenges.

Lastly, synthetic data is vital for seamless data exchange between public and private entities in the infrastructure and energy sector. It can optimise infrastructure and network management in smart cities and buildings and monitor physical infrastructure. It supports assessing multiple risk scenarios, aiding damage simulation and optimal management assessments.

Zurich-based Lakera AI, on Thursday, October 12, announced the formal launch of its AI security platform, enabling developers to secure generative AI applications in the enterprise.

In addition to the launch, Lakera AI has secured $10M (approximately €9.4M) in a fresh funding round led by Redalpine. 

Other founders, including Fly Ventures, Inovia Capital, and several industry expert angels, such as the co-founders of Snyk and key executives from Palo Alto Networks, Datadog, and Hybris , also participated. 

Lakera AI: Secure generative AI applications 

After a decade of developing machine learning systems for aerospace and healthcare, David Haber, Matthias Kraft, and Mateo Rojas-Carulla saw the rapid rise of LLMs. The trio knew existing enterprise security solutions would not accommodate the unique needs of AI. 

They launched Lakera AI to fill this gap. 

“When you build AI for airplanes and healthcare, high security standards become baked into everything you do. For AI to reach its full potential, we need these same high standards applied in the enterprise,” says David Haber, Founder and CEO of Lakera. 

“Developers have a huge role to play in the AI era. AI security has to be incorporated into the development lifecycle. Enterprise developers need an intelligent compute layer embedded in AI applications to ensure protection over time. That’s what Lakera delivers,” adds Haber. 

Lakera AI works with any AI model or modality and instantly provides enterprise-grade security for AI applications.

In August 2023, Lakera AI released the beta version of Lakera Guard, to meet the urgent demand for a solution that protected LLMs in production. 

Lakera Guard is powered by a proprietary database that combines crowdsourced insights from Gandalf, the company’s viral AI education game, with open source databases and its own dedicated research. 

Lakera’s database has amassed nearly 30M attack data points and is growing by 100k+ entries every day. 

Lakera Guard empowers developers to activate this vulnerability data with one line of code, instantly embedding a security layer into AI applications in production.

Lakera Guard is LLM-agnostic and currently focuses on securing Q&A use cases by protecting against prompt injections (including jailbreaks, escape characters, role play and system prompt leakage), PII detection and masking, content moderation, and hallucinations. 

“As enterprises are quickly establishing their generative AI stacks, we aim to be the go-to-choice for all things security across the organisation,” adds David Haber. “From developers to CISOs, it’s important that all stakeholders are empowered to integrate AI without the risks.”

The Investor

Redalpine is a Swiss venture capital firm that brings together financial investment, operational expertise, and a vast international network to help ambitious entrepreneurs.

With over €1B in assets under management and a sector-agnostic investment strategy, the firm has backed some of Europe’s most disruptive companies, including N26, Taxfix, Inkitt, 9fin, Carvolution, Zenjob, vivenu, and Umiami. 

Redalpine has over 85 companies in its portfolio and invests Europe-wide from its offices in Zurich and Berlin.

“AI presents security risks unlike anything we’ve seen before. Every organisation looking to leverage AI will have to navigate this new threat landscape,” says Harald Nieder, General Partner at Redalpine, Lakera’s lead investor. “This is one of the most experienced teams in AI with a treasure trove of vulnerability data. Their developer-first approach provides the missing link for all enterprises to deploy AI models with confidence.”

London-based TitanML, an AI company, announced on Thursday that it has secured $2.8M (approximately €2.6M) in a pre-seed round of funding led by Octopus Ventures along with deep tech-focused angel investors. 

The funding comes as the UK company launches — Titan Takeoff, which makes large language model (LLM) deployment significantly faster, and cheaper for machine learning teams.

“We see so many businesses investing heavily in AI, but most struggle to return value from their investments. Machine learning teams are facing a whole host of problems in model deployment – from GPU shortages, to concerns over privacy when deploying through third parties like OpenAI. We’re transforming what was once the most challenging part of the development cycle into the easiest and most efficient, and it’s here where our flagship product, Takeoff, comes into its own”, says Meryem Arik, CEO & Co-Founder of TitanML.

The company is on a mission to build the infrastructure layer for deep learning in the enterprise.

TitanML: What you need to know

Founded in 2021, TitanML was born out of the postdoctoral research of Dr. James Dborin and Dr. Fergus Finn, who explored deep learning training, compression, and inference optimisation whilst at University College London (UCL). 

They later joined forces with co-founder Meryem Arik, who was an Oxford alumna. 

TitanML enables machine learning teams to effortlessly and efficiently deploy large language models (LLMs).

Currently, the team consists of expert ML researchers, engineers, and architects working to accelerate the adoption of deep learning in enterprises.

The investors

Octopus is a multi-stage venture capital investor specialising in B2B software, bio, climate, consumer, deep tech, fintech, health. Each year, the VC deploys more than £200M to help its portfolio companies scale at speed.

Mat Munro of the Deep Tech Team at Octopus Ventures says, “There’s a lot of excitement at the moment around new language models. For companies wanting to deploy these in-house however, the reality is that it can take months of work by highly skilled data scientists that still need to optimise these models to turn them into deployable products. TitanML makes it possible for businesses to significantly reduce the processing requirements of high specification models quickly, cheaply, and with minimal trade-offs, unlocking the true potential of these technologies.”

“We are very excited to be leading this round of investment and look forward to supporting the team as they take the next steps in empowering businesses with efficient model deployment,” he adds.

Amsterdam-based Tidalflow, an AI startup, announced the launch of the company and its first funding round, which has raised $1.7M (approximately €1.6M).    

The investment is co-led by Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI-focused venture fund) and Dig Ventures (operated by MuleSoft founder Ross Mason), with additional backing from Antler. 

The Dutch company will use the capital to accelerate the development of its platform, designed to seamlessly integrate third-party software within Large Language Model (LLM) ecosystems via plugins. 

This integration enables AI to utilise software to its full potential by transforming knowledge into action.

What does Tidalflow solve?

As AI becomes increasingly proficient at utilizing software, businesses require a unified approach to adapt without compromising on reliability. 

Here’s where Tidalflow’s platform provides the necessary tools for this adaptation, allowing businesses not only to keep up with technological advancements but also to monetise them.

“‘Software is eating the world’ as Marc Andreessen proclaimed in 2011. While this still holds true, AI could use software more efficiently than humans,” says Coen Stevens, CTO and co-founder of Tidalflow. 

“Tidalflow ensures that AI lives up to that potential and offers businesses reliable infrastructure to capitalize on this shift and not be left behind,” adds Stevens. 

Tidalflow: Bridging the gap between Software and LLMs

Founded by Coen Stevens, Sebastian Jorna and Henry Wynaendts, Tidalflow’s plugin lifecycle management platform allows software businesses to develop, test, monitor and monetise their product instances for compatibility with LLMs, opening new distribution channels and revenue streams.

“Much like the iPhone ushered in a new era for mobile-friendly software in 2007, we’re now at a similar inflection point, namely for software to become LLM-compatible,” says Sebastian Jorna, CEO and Co-founder of Tidalflow. 

“Tidalflow serves as a catalyst to this new supercycle by providing an end-to-end platform for businesses to create, test and manage that LLM-instance of their product,” he adds.

Germany-based NEURA Robotics GmbH, an AI and robotics startup, announced on Tuesday, that it has secured $16M (approximately €15.1M) in a fresh round of funding from American private equity firm InterAlpen Partners. 

The news comes following a recent $55M funding round with European investors.

NEURA says it will use the funds to support its growth and expansion into the US market, allowing the company to accelerate research, enhance products, expand the team, and increase market reach.

Investors supporting Neura

NEURA’s latest investment came from InterAlpen Partners, a private equity firm based in Omaha, NE, and Denver, CO.

Stephen George, InterAlpen founder says, “NEURA Robotics represents one of the most compelling companies we’ve seen in our careers. Their mission of empowering humanity with robotics is highly aligned with InterAlpen’s sustainable impact mission.”

“We believe that the amazing products and partnerships that the team have created will power NEURA to become a global industry leader in the rising field of collaborative robotics,” adds George.

InterAlpen’s goal is to partner with entrepreneurs and family investment offices, investing in and developing category-leading companies during the expansion stage. 

The firm focuses on scaling innovation for strong investment returns and sustainable impact, managing around $450M in capital from its third fund.

Vision to revolutionise the world of robotics

Founded in 2019, NEURA Robotics has developed collaborative robots (cobots) with advanced sensory capabilities, enabling them to see, hear, and perceive touch. These robots use reflexive sensory processing for autonomous and predictive actions. 

The company says it is developing these cobots to collaborate with humans in various industries and environments. NEURA is working towards launching the first multi-purpose humanoid robot, addressing the shortage of skilled workers.

NEURA, under CEO David Reger, claims to have become an industry leader in cognitive robotics within three years. 

The company developed MAiRA, the world’s first cognitive cobot combining AI and robotics, capable of autonomous operation and interaction with humans. 

NEURA’s innovations find applications in manufacturing, hospitality, and elder care, offering unmatched flexibility and cost efficiency in automation.

CEO David Reger says, “Having an American investor on board creates the perfect conditions for our US market launch in 2024.”

“We’re proud to partner with InterAlpen, particularly because Stephen George is truly an entrepreneur-investor. He was an early investor in Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter and Epic Systems, and can sense the next big thing. 

InterAlpen believes that forward-looking AI and first-class hardware made in Germany will not only change robotics but change the world.”

Expansion in the US

NEURA is strategically expanding into the US, capitalising on the country’s status as the largest global market for robotics, with an estimated revenue of $7.7B in 2023. 

The worldwide robotics market is anticipated to steadily grow, reaching a market volume of $45B by 2028. This expansion aligns with the growth prospects in the robotics industry.

NEURA’s product line of cobots includes MAiRA and MAiRA Jr., intelligent assistants for manufacturing and laboratories; MAV, an autonomous vehicle for indoor navigation; LARA, a versatile robotic assistant blending industrial performance with intuitive user experience; and MiPA, a multi-purpose assistant equipped with industry-leading sensors and AI for safe human interaction and task automation.

The 7th edition of the World Summit AI (WSAI) is returning to Amsterdam, promising another exciting event.

Regarded as one of the most vibrant events on Artificial Intelligence (AI), WSAI provides a platform for AI experts and enthusiasts to connect, share knowledge, and grow together. This year’s edition promises to outshine all previous editions, boasting an even larger scale and an abundance of opportunities to engage with the foremost thought leaders and doers in AI.

The World Summit AI 2023 (WSAI 2023) will be hosted on October 11 and 12 at the Taets Art and Event Park in Zaandam. 

What is World Summit AI?

World Summit AI brings together a global AI ecosystem of enterprises, big tech, startups, investors, and Science. Some of the brightest brains in AI will be present as speakers and ready to answer and tackle some of the most burning AI issues and set the global AI agenda.

The event will also provide a platform for budding startups working in AI or using AI to showcase their products and businesses and seek funding. 

If you’re attending the World Summit AI in Amsterdam, check out the Amsterdam Pavilion (Booth B20), where 12 innovative startups and scale-ups will showcase their solutions.

The Amsterdam Pavilion is powered by StartupAmsterdam, Amsterdam inbusiness, and Amsterdam Convention Bureau.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet these innovators and hear them pitch their solutions during the Startup Pitch Hour, which will take place on both days between 14:00 and 15:00.

Startups exhibiting on October 11, 2023

Check out the innovative startups that are set to take the stage on October 11, 2023

Reset Technologies

Reset optimises your mental and physical state by recommending tailored breaks based on your physiology to keep you in your ideal zone. 

Here’s what the company has to say:

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“We are grateful for the opportunity to be present at WSAI and look forward to showcasing Reset to a wider audience. AI’s potential on health tech is huge and we are actively incorporating it into our product development.” 

Reset Technologies is committed to helping users manage stress and enhance mental resilience in their daily routines. The company aims to help users reset their minds and bodies, leaving them feeling more balanced, focused, and energised. The company has developed a physical product called the Reset Pod. 

Reset Pod is an immersive space that combines your data with scientifically-backed experiences. It offers short breaks that can help users mentally tune up or down based on their specific needs. 

The pod is designed to connect with the wearable sensor data, and it personalises the experiences inside the pod accordingly. Additionally, it provides quantified feedback on which interventions work best for the user making it a truly personalised and effective tool for mental optimisation.

What are you looking for at the moment?

Reset Technologies seeks technical expertise, development partnerships, and investors to accelerate its roadmap.

Sirius

Sirius offers a full-cycle technology stack for Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) to promote sustainability in the metals and mobility sectors, which are crucial players in the energy transition.

The platform addresses challenges CSOs face to drive sustainability initiatives, automates repetitive tasks, calculates ROI, and provides a detailed toolkit for easy implementation.

Here’s what the company has to say:

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“It’s the place to be to hear from the leaders about the trends and how the industry will be shaped.”

What are you looking for at the moment?

Sirius is focused on finding mentors and investors with expertise in AI or building vertical SaaS solutions.

Zeta-Alpha

Zeta Alpha is a powerful Neural Discovery Platform that leverages Neural Search and Generative AI to discover and organise knowledge efficiently. 

This platform allows organisations to make informed decisions, avoid duplicating efforts, stay updated easily, and accelerate their impact at work.

Here’s what the company has to say:

What are you looking for at the moment?

Zeta-Alpha wants to collaborate with organisations interested in improving their knowledge and learning in these areas, to accelerate their advancement from the prototype stage to successful application.

Medical VR

MedicalVR combines medical expertise and VR technology to revolutionise healthcare.

Here’s what the company has to say:

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“Participating at the WSAI is a great chance for MedicalVR to showcase how AI and 3D technology are helping support surgeons. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to present and pitch our groundbreaking innovation.” 

What are you looking for at the moment?

Medical VR aims to engage with industry leaders and raise awareness for its upcoming investment round.

Linear Logic

Linear Logic provides a one-stop-shop to develop and deploy AI solutions focusing on Geospatial applications with AI explainability as its key feature. Industries like the Dutch Public Prosecution Office are adopting the company’s ML model.

Linear Logic’s mission is to revolutionise the AI landscape by giving top priority to explainability. The company claims to have introduced an innovative canonical model designed specifically for deep learning in computer vision. 

“Our platform offers robust data management capabilities, making it easy to visualise and sift through vast amounts of unstructured data. You can enable real-time computation of model metrics, which facilitates effortless identification of edge cases. With a single, affordable, and scalable SaaS machine learning platform, organisations can now focus their resources where they are needed most and drive their core business,” says the company. 

What are you looking for at the moment?

Linear Logic wants to engage with industry experts at the World Summit.

Typetone

Typetone helps professionals and businesses integrate generative AI into their content creation workflow.

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“We are incredibly excited to be at WSAI. It is an amazing opportunity to present our product, Typetone, to a global community of AI enthusiasts, professionals, investors, and potential customers.” 

What are you looking for at the moment?

Typetone is currently seeking investments, partnerships, and collaboration opportunities.

What is your most important ask?

The company is extending an invitation to anyone interested in enhancing their content creation efficiency and effectiveness, or those generally intrigued by the latest advancements in AI. 

“We’re here to listen, learn, and adapt our solutions to meet each customer’s unique needs. Lastly, we want to emphasise that Typetone is more than just a tool – it’s a paradigm shift in the way businesses can create content, where they can combine human creativity with AI power to achieve truly remarkable results,” says the company. 

Startups exhibiting on October 12, 2023

On October 12, 2023, these startups will take centre stage, showcasing their groundbreaking ideas, technologies, and solutions

Mokin (formerly Switch AI)

Mokin has developed an AI-powered speech-to-speech translation platform that continuously breaks language barriers. The live speech translation app can be implemented in markets such as government integration and participation departments. It supports translation from Dutch and English to Arabic, Tigrinya, Farsi, and more.

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“We are excited to be present at WSAI to showcase our initiative with the City of Amsterdam to 

enhance the quality of conversations between refugees and municipal employees while creating their participation and integration plan. By speaking in their native language, we aim to make them feel more welcomed and provide them with better services.”

What are you looking for at the moment?

Mokin is looking out for additional cities and municipalities interested in piloting their AI interpreter. They are also seeking Dutch-Arabic translators who are willing to assess user feedback on translations.

Orquesta

Orquesta is a no-code platform that makes programming unnecessary, promoting collaboration and efficiency within software teams. It saves engineers time, allows product management to maintain a clear overview, and enables internal domain experts to verify interaction accuracy easily.

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“WSAI allows us, as the Amsterdam AI community, to showcase all the great companies and talent we have here and form a single front as an ecosystem.” 

What are you looking for at the moment?

Orquesta is in search of design partners interested in collaborating on cutting-edge AI and LLM use cases or integrating with complementary products. 

Additionally, with their recent fundraising, which has received support from prominent Dutch AI VCs and entrepreneurs, they aim to support Amsterdam in claiming its spot in AI and Tech.

Gelectric

Gelectric is specialised in electrical retrofit solutions for old vessels. The platform helps identify opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of the ships, in addition to bringing other benefits, including reducing operating costs, improving the fleet’s environmental performance, and enhancing the company’s reputation.

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI?

“We are very excited to be a part of WSAI because it is a great opportunity to showcase our solution to a wider audience of professionals. The exhibition is also great for networking with potential customers, partners, and investors.” 

What are you looking for at the moment?

Gelectric wants to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of its solution and simultaneously seek partners who can assist them in expanding its solution’s reach and making it accessible to a broader customer base.

What is your most important ask?

“My most important ask is for potential customers to try our solution and see for themselves how it can help them to improve their operations. I am also looking for partners who can help us to develop new features and capabilities for our solution.”

Gelectic wants its potential customers to try their solution and witness how it can improve their operations. Additionally, the startup is looking for partners who can assist in the advancement of new features and capabilities for their solution.

Alphadoc

Alphadoc is a platform that helps product and development teams create great documentation faster. It is a developer experience platform with tools to help engineers at every stage of the customer journey, including documentation, sales, marketing, onboarding, and implementation.

What are you looking for at the moment?

“The software development industry is constantly evolving with the rise of large language models and AI. The emergence of AI copilots has made writing, debugging, and testing code easier, thereby significantly reducing the time to build applications. We are keen to engage with other industry professionals and potential customers interested in our developer onboarding and sales platform.”

Insight: People & Culture

 AI-driven people & culture platform fostering a human-first future of work.

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI? 

“We’re thrilled to be a part of WSAI, a beacon for AI innovation. Our mission aligns closely with the ethos of the summit: leveraging AI not to replace but to enhance the human experience.” 

Insight: People & Culture aims to blend technology and empathy, demonstrating that the two can coexist harmoniously. Through WSAI, they have the opportunity to build human-first cultures in the modern workplace.

What are you looking for at the moment? 

Currently, the Dutch company is actively looking for partnerships with forward-thinking, purpose-driven organisations. 

“We see them not just as customers but as co-creators, helping us refine and amplify our impact. These are organisations that truly care about being human-first and are pioneers in addressing the needs of the younger generations.” 

Further, the company is also approaching its fundraising phase with an urge to align with investors who share their commitment to balancing positive impact and financial sustainability. 

Additionally, the company is in search of individuals who are passionate about humanising the world of work to join their team and become part of this movement.

Skendy

Skendy is a new AI-powered application that simplifies personal administration tasks and saves time. The platform lets users scan letters, extract payment info, and categorise them automatically in folders of their choice. 

Why are you excited to exhibit at WSAI? 

“Exhibiting at WSAI isn’t just an event for us; it’s an opportunity. We are excited to demonstrate how our new product can improve everyday lives. Interacting with the global tech community at WSAI will provide us invaluable insight and new perspectives to further perfect our work.”

What are you looking for at the moment? 

Skendy aims to establish strong partnerships with individuals and organisations who align with their belief that AI has the potential to guide humanity toward a more vibrant future. Additionally, they are also extending invitations to potential investors to participate in their exciting journey of innovation and discovery.

What is your most important ask? 

Skendy looks to secure investment at WSAI to strengthen its mission and earn recognition.

If you’re attending the summit, make sure to stop by the Amsterdam Pavilion and meet these innovators. Furthermore, on both days, between 14:00 and 15:00, you can hear them pitch their solutions during the Startup Pitch Hour.

The 2023 Young Generation in Tech report has been released following the success of last year’s report with surprising results.

Backed by Eight Roads Ventures Europe and HR platform HiBob, the 2023 report offers a broader and deeper look at young people across the tech sector and their thoughts on their roles, the industry, AI, and mental health. 

The report surveyed 2,000 20 to 30-year-olds tech workers in Ireland and Europe, including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. 

Here are the key takeaways:

Young workers are embracing AI

Despite concerns about AI disrupting jobs, nearly 4 in 5 young tech workers in Europe have a positive outlook on AI.

In total, a significant majority (78 per cent) of young tech workers surveyed are optimistic about the impact of AI on their roles, with 70 per cent believing it will make them more productive, efficient, and creative. Only a minority (11 per cent) say they never plan to use AI tools.

UK young tech workers are the most confident about the advances of AI and tech with 85 per cent, while in Ireland and Spain, the number is slightly lower at 75 per cent. 

“… Today’s young professionals are proving just how resilient and adaptable they can be,” says Davor Hebel, managing partner at Eight Roads Ventures. 

“Not surprisingly, they are the fastest generation to embrace AI, seeing it as a strong productivity lever and not a threat,” adds Hebel.

Rising job satisfaction

Compared to the previous year, there has been a significant increase in job satisfaction among young tech workers. 

The number of unhappy young tech workers in Europe has decreased by more than half, from 35 to 15 per cent. Additionally, 48 per cent of respondents said they are “very satisfied” with their job, and 63 per cent have no plans to resign soon. These findings suggest that the tech workforce in Europe is becoming more content and settled.

This satisfaction rate is likely due to a number of factors, including increased job security and promotions. 59 per cent of respondents in Europe consider their position secure compared with 51 per cent last year. Meanwhile, 77 per cent of respondents reported being promoted at least once in the past two years.

“It’s heartening to see confidence recover amongst the tech’s youngest workers. Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, today’s young professionals are proving just how resilient and adaptable they can be.

On the other side of the spectrum, Dutch and Swedish tech workers reported the highest levels of job dissatisfaction (17.7 and 25.3 per cent) and job insecurity (24.7 and 25.6 per cent) among young tech workers in Europe.

A time to return to the office

According to the survey, it’s clear that the traditional office space still holds value. While flexible work arrangements are highly regarded in all surveyed regions, 56 per cent of young professionals prefer spending four or five days a week in the office. 

Hybrid work was the second most popular work arrangement, with 34.49 per cent of respondents preferring it. Nearly 40 per cent of respondents said they feel equally engaged at home and in the office. Only a minority (9 per cent) opt for full-time remote work.

Young people confirm that being in the office makes them more engaged and motivated. This is likely due to the ability to meet and interact with people they work with, such as their team, manager and other colleagues.

Purpose and mental health awareness

Some young tech workers in Europe are motivated by purpose and 21 per cent want to work for companies that make a positive impact on the world. They also value companies with strong values, fairness, collaboration, and volunteering opportunities while supporting their employees’ mental health and well-being.

“The young generation is signalling a clear message: beyond competitive salaries and benefits, they’re in search of workplaces that resonate with purpose and empower them with the necessary resources to thrive,” says Ronni Zehavi, co-founder and CEO of HiBob.

While the survey found that more young people feel secure with their jobs, 56 per cent still reported that their jobs affect their mental health. However, they are now more open to talking about it. They believe employers can support their mental health by trusting them to do their job, providing the necessary resources, and creating a supportive work environment.