GoodTech Ventures Accelerator unveil first cohort of impact-led tech start-ups
Twelve new ventures have been announced as the first cohort of the GoodTech Ventures Accelerator, a new programme to support impact-led tech start-ups to design, build and deploy game-changing digital technologies into social and public service delivery.
Delivered by Catch22 in partnership with Social Tech Trust and Unity Ventures with support from Ufi, Microsoft and the UK government, the accelerator will support the founders to scale their ventures and navigate the complexities of social innovation.
The first GoodTech Ventures Accelerator cohort
David Hinton, Senior Venture Partner at GoodTech Ventures, said:
"We are thrilled to welcome these 12 outstanding ventures selected for the first cohort of the GoodTech Ventures Accelerator. The selection process was highly competitive, with numerous exceptional impact ventures to choose from.
“At GoodTech Ventures, we are dedicated to supporting founders who are committed to developing tech solutions for a stronger society. We believe that these 12 ventures exemplify this dedication. We look forward to providing our support to these ventures as they embark on their journey to create lasting social impact."
Helen Gironi, Director of Ufi Ventures, said:
"We are delighted to welcome the first cohort of impact-driven tech ventures to the GoodTech Ventures Accelerator and look forward to supporting their progress. At Ufi we champion the development and use of vocational technology to help adults gain skills for work. We are particularly pleased that this first cohort includes a strong set of ventures innovating in this space.”
Congratulations to all 12, including:
A-dapt is on a mission to enhance education and training with emotion Artificial Inteligence (AI) for better learner outcomes. Their aim is to use emotion AI to make a significant impact on education and training, by better understanding and managing emotional states in learners, to improve outcomes.
Claudio Piovesana, Co-Founder and CEO at A-dapt, and Matthew Mayes, Co-Founder and Product Development at A-dapt, said:
“In an era where a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence is increasingly crucial, particularly as governments aim to leverage AI at scale for societal benefits, our vision is to empower disadvantaged individuals with novel methods for screen-based learning. These methods can adapt in real-time based on human factors such as attention, positivity, and engagement. This approach enables individuals to learn at their own pace and gain access to hyper-personalised learning experiences that would otherwise be unavailable.”
Frontier AI is on a mission to bring education into the age of AI and democratise access to world-class education. They aim to empower 100 million new AI and Web 3.0-enabled engineers and marketers to land the jobs of tomorrow by delivering industry-redefining education, accessible to all.
Howard Kingston, Founder of Frontier AI, said:
“Much education as we know it was designed to create factory workers, not harness human potential via AI. We believe we're at the cusp of using AI for the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen, and we plan to be at the forefront of that.”
In Reality is a software technology company providing training systems, including desktop and Virtual Reality simulators, to regulated industries including rail, transportation, aerospace and energy.
Chris Jones, CEO of In Reality, said:
“Being part of the GoodTech Accelerator gives us a platform to accelerate commercialisation of our RS2Sim desktop simulator product. We have previously participated in the ‘Augmentor’ Digital Catapult accelerator programme, so we appreciate the value of structured workshops and mentoring”.
Scooter (SCIE – Social Care Institute for Excellence)
Scooter is a mobile app that empowers social care workers to provide high quality care. The app responds to care workers’ real-time information needs by distilling complex guidance about core caring skills and knowledge and presenting it in practical and accessible formats.
Co-founders of Scoote, Deborah Rozansky, Krishan Kandya and Sophie Richter said:
“Our goal is to revolutionise the use of information to drive improvements in social care. Every day, more than 10 million people across the UK receive support from care workers. The Scooter app will equip these workers in real time with the information they need to deliver gold standard care.
Taught by Humans aims to help learners become AI and data confident by offering education for companies and individuals through a hyper-personalised online learning platform. They believe that everyone should be able to learn what they want in a way which works for them.
Laura Gemmell, Founder and Technical CEO of Taught by Humans, said:
“We have ambitious goals for the end of this programme. The GoodTech Accelerator is an amazing opportunity for us to build a commercial, investable business without losing the importance of ensuring everyone can learn what they need to (our social impact).”
Join the next cohort
Applications to the second cohort will open in early March 2024. You can register your interest here.
You can explore the initial set of ventures here: https://www.goodtech.ventures/c/meet-the-cohort/
