The funding came from undisclosed angel investors and is Inicio.AI‘s second funding round, the last one for £500,000, bringing the total to £1 million. The company has said it is aiming to raise an additional £500,000 in the coming months. 

The money is set to be used for expanding from the debt management sector to financial services more broadly by recruiting more staff and clients, and developing the company’s technology further. 

Founded in April 2020 in Leicester and launched later that year, Inicio.AI recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh AI Accelerator. The Accelerator chose 12 companies to take part in its programme that showed the use of AI for a wider social benefit. 

The startup’s Scotland presence also lives in its collaboration with Pastdue Credit Solutions, based in Glasgow, and Life Link, a mental health and wellbeing charity.

Inicio.AI’s platform helps consumers simplify the process of managing debt. As well as allowing the companies or organisations they owe money to help them determine suitable repayment arrangements.

This process replaces the traditional and often unpleasant method of conducting lengthy telephone calls, which can create discomfort for both parties involved.

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“I think the latest figures are that one in eight of those who are behind on a household bill are now attempting suicide because they just can’t face speaking to an agent at a company they owe money to [and] go through detailed expenditure to work out what they can afford to pay,” said Rachel Curti, CEO of Inico.AI to The Herald. “We became aware of that challenge and thought that was a really good case for when giving somebody a virtual agent is better than giving them a human being.”

Stephen Smith, a partner in Davidson Chalmers Stewart’s corporate team, who is advising the company through this funding round, says Inico.AI’s approach to debt management, leveraging conversational AI in online interactions, is poised to “reshape the industry” by making a formerly stressful part of financial management more simple for the user.