Norwich artificial intelligence firm Rainbird grows on equity investment
Ben Taylor and James Duez of Rainbird.Photo by Simon Finlay. - Credit: Archant Norfolk
Rainbird, the artificial intelligence firm, has announced plans to bolster its workforce after securing a cash-injection from an equity investment fund.
The Norwich technology business will receive £28,000 from New Anglia Capital as part of the company's seed investment rounds which have raised more than £1m.
The company will use the money to underpin its growth strategy, which includes expanding its team from 12 to more than 20 staff.
It comes after the Anglia Capital Group and Angel financiers showed their support to Rainbird by investing about £100,000 in the firm.
Based at Whitespace, in St James Mill on Whitefriars, the company has already joined forces with a leading university to bring international consistency to the treatment of Ebola, as well as working closely with financial services firms to create a new bank.
Earlier this year, the company took part in the Techstars accelerator programme, which crams two years of growth into 13 weeks.
James Duez, co-founder of Rainbird with Ben Taylor, said: 'We are 90pc funded by Angel investors and the majority of those are in the UK and predominantly East Anglia. Having local people investing in us provides tighter support and boosts the region's economy,
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'We help companies take the knowledge they have locked away in a few individuals and encode it in a cloud-based software platform that 'learns', enabling them to raise standards and improve efficiency,' he added.
'Examples include contact centre knowledge tools, risk and compliance management solutions and virtual advisors that can determine what products would delight any specific customer.
'This technology can solve problems that the world has not managed to crack yet.'
Chris Dashper, of New Anglia LEP, said: 'Rainbird exemplifies what we are trying to achieve with our £1m equity investment pot - an innovative tech company with exciting ambitions in the fast-growing world of artificial intelligence.'
