Wearable tech to reduce drug overdose risk, AI for affordable finance guidance, and a device that captures birdsong to evaluate natural capital are just three of the new AI Accelerator cohort companies announced today.

Thirteen global companies, chosen for their capacity to harness AI for good in the areas of health, climate ,and social impact, are set to benefit from a comprehensive package of support from the University of Edinburgh and its entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Now in its sixth year, previous cohorts of the programme have generated £71 million in financing so far.

Amongst the new AI Accelerator class is Edinburgh company Lovat, which provides AI-powered tax management software for e-commerce businesses, helping them simplify cross-border tax compliance while expanding into new markets.

Meanwhile, London-based Engage Smarter has a platform of conversational AI agents trained to give risk-managed financial guidance to an estimated 26 million UK consumers who either can’t afford or don’t want their own financial advisor, which leads to financial exclusion.

And Chirrup.ai captures and analyses birdsong to evaluate the natural capital of land managed by farmers, forestry businesses, and local governments, to demonstrate best practice, support funding applications, and enhance sustainable supply chains.

The AI Accelerator is open to founders from across the globe who are scaling businesses to address the world’s biggest challenges. Previous alumni include US-based MindTrace, which makes software tools for neurosurgeons, and Italian chatbot Indigo.AI, which was subsequently acquired by tech company Vedrai.

This year, the founders will be supported by new Entrepreneur in Residence, David Farquhar, who has started, scaled or invested in over 20 companies, most recently catapulting vertical farm manufacturer Intelligent Growth Solutions from an academic project to a global company with a strong market valuation.

Further support is offered by companies providing pro-bono mentoring to founders. For example, this year data and cloud computing expert Eviden will be offering help on topics such as digital marketing and building technical roadmaps.

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Dr Andrea Taylor, CEO of Edinburgh Innovations, the university’s commercialisation service, said: “The AI Accelerator is an excellent example of the innovation ecosystem that extends out of the University of Edinburgh.

“Here, we support global businesses to develop their AI and entrepreneurial expertise in order to improve lives in our key challenge areas of climate and sustainability, AI and data for good, and future health and care.”