The AI Accelerator, delivered by The University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, has selected a group of emerging companies from Scotland, the UK and other parts of the globe for this year’s programme.

Among the 12 winners is Inicio AI, an AI start-up founded as a result of an interaction with a pregnant lady contemplating suicide due to feelings of hopelessness around her debts.

Inicio AI has built a financial assessment app that simplifies the process of understanding what customers can afford when they are in debt.

Graeme MacLeod, one of Inicio AI’s co-founders explains: “Debt is a growing societal disease. It’s estimated that 2.5m people considered suicide due to debt during the pandemic – Inicio AI is doing something about that.

“More customers are able to complete this embarrassing process as they are guided through it by a friendly AI assistant and don’t have the embarrassment, and shame, of explaining their situation to a human in a call centre, which they would otherwise avoid.”

The Edinburgh University business commercialisation programme, which helps innovative companies using AI to maximise their full potential, has helped previous cohort companies attract more than £10m in grants and investment over the last year.

The programme is delivered both digitally and in-person by the Bayes Centre, and Edinburgh Innovations, The University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service.

To qualify, participating companies must use AI for “wider societal benefit” to deliver solutions in core areas such as health and wellbeing, social care, and environmental stewardship.

Participants in the programme benefit from a package of support focused on building connections, as well as from leadership mentoring and support with product development.

Andy Smy, Inicio AI’s Chief Product Officer explains: “Chatbots are increasingly being used to offer consumers support, but the complexity of people’s finances, particularly in the context of a cost of living crisis, is outpacing the technology’s ability to understand.

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“With the University’s support we expect to be able to extend our conversational user experience to guide a user through an income and expenditure form when and how it suits them and help companies to scale the support they offer to meet the demand.”

Professor Iain Gordon, vice-principal and head of the College of Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh, added: “As a world leader in AI research, the University’s role is pivotal in supporting innovative companies which are applying AI to help address key
societal challenges such as climate change and healthy ageing.”.

The AI programme will last for six months and will give Inicio AI the opportunity to demonstrate that their technology has wider consumer use, collaborate with other Fintechs in the sector and to raise further investment in the business.

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