Intelligent AI raises nearly £1m and launches South West recruitment drive

An Exeter-based artificial intelligence start-up whose founder was inspired to change the commercial insurance sector by the Grenfell Tower disaster has raised close to £1m in funding – and has just started a recruitment drive across the South West.

Intelligent AI, which uses artificial intelligence to accurately assess risk in the commercial property insurance sector, is aiming to save the insurance industry £500m a year as it launches in the UK and US.

The company has developed an online Intelligent Risk platform using 300 real-time data sources ranging from weather and flood risks to crime rates and fire service response times. Its software helps address the imbalance between accurate premiums and actual claims.

It was founded by serial entrepreneur Anthony Peake, who was previously managing director of Exeter-based Software Solved and has held senior roles at global technology companies including Apple, GE, BT and Oracle.

“The insurance industry has been slow to transform, especially in the commercial space,” Peake told SWTD.

Peake said part of his reason for starting Intelligent AI was the Grenfell Tower disaster, where incomplete and historic data failed to accurately indicate the risk. “Having real-time, accurate data on risks, and risk mitigation, could ultimately help to prevent catastrophic incidents like Grenfell Tower,” Peake said.

To help solve that problem, Intelligent AI has launched a recruitment drive to build its core team in the South West. The company already employs seven people and is looking to bring on talented developers to work on its cutting-edge software development.

“I love being able to hire great people in the South West,” said Peake. “There are highly skilled people here. The developers we are hiring love working on innovation. The biggest challenge is growing that talent, which is exactly what we want to do.”

Backers of the Intelligent AI include RLC Ventures, FomCap and a number of leading angel investors. It has also received £295,000 in grants, including from Innovate UK.

“We are thrilled to be backing Anthony and his team from Intelligent AI,” Reece Chowdhry, founding partner of RLC Ventures, told SWTD.

“The company is enabling large insurers with outdated legacy systems to uniquely price premiums effectively through access to real time data. Business disruption has caused a huge negative balance for Insurers, particularly with the impact of Covid-19. Intelligent AI enhances the ability for insurers to price insurance more effectively as well as preventing large payouts through real-time analytics, facilitating more effective management of clients. The team impressed us from day one, combining a mix of highly technical ability with previous sales experience into large insurers.”

"Intelligent AI has developed a robust technology platform during what has been a very challenging year,” said Dr. Ben Voysey, Incubation and Acceleration Manager at SETsquared Exeter, the accelerator where Intelligent AI is a member. “With a strong track record of working collaboratively with key strategic partners in the region and beyond, Anthony and the team have made rapid progress with their intelligent risk platform and we are delighted that another high growth technology business has chosen to remain in the South West as it begins to expand its core team.”