Search through our UKHotViews and UKHotViewExtra articles plus complete research reports
Scottish electric bus network start-up Ember has raised £11m in Series A funding from Inven Capital, 2150, and AENU (with participation from existing investors Pale Blue Dot and SkyScanner).
Founded in 2019, Ember builds and operates an intercity electric bus network, having also developed an automated platform that serves as the network’s digital twin, EmberOS (which provides timetabling, ticketing, charging, and maintenance orchestration services).
The company’s aim is to take advantage of higher margins achievable by optimal use of electric buses (leveraging EmberOS to ensure high vehicle utilisation) to provide a climate-friendly travel service at low cost.
Ember will use the funding to accelerate the rollout of its electric bus services and further invest in the development of EmberOS.
For more on sustainability use cases in Transport & travel, see TechMarketView’s Sustainability Technology Activity Index (our unique take in the sustainability technology landscape).
Subscribers to our SustainabilityViews research stream can download the Index now. If you are not yet a subscriber, or would like to learn more about our sustainability research, please contact Deb Seth for more information.
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:26
Tags: funding transport EV
AIM-listed Corero Network Security delivered a strong performance in FY 2023, underpinned by continued demand for its DDoS Protection-as-a-service (DDPaaS) offerings.
Revenues grew 11% to $22.3m in FY23 with annualised Recurring Revenues (ARR) up 17% to $16.9m. The business posted a loss before taxation of $0.2m. The launch of the SmartWall ONE solution during 2023 was a significant milestone for Corero. SmartWall delivers a modular architecture which interfaces with industry-leading routers, providing increased protection against DNS-based attacks, and a new 100G software appliance solution.
Corero also announced a global partnership agreement with Akamai, which will see Corero’s on-premises DDoS protection provided in Akamai Prolexic, Akamai’s own comprehensive portfolio of DDoS security solutions. Corero also announced its first major LATAM partnership with network solutions distributor TechEnabler supporting growth in Brazil.
In November, Corero appointed US-based Carl Herberger as CEO. Herberger’s previous roles included Field CSO at Verinext Solutions and VP of Security Services at CyberSheath International. Before that, he spent nine years with Radware as Global General Manager and Vice President of Security Solutions, during which time it became the No 2 player in the global DDoS market.
Looking ahead to 2024, Corero will build upon the foundations established last year with a high focus on continuing new business and partnership momentum and pursuing regional expansion. There will also be a focus on profitability and positive cash-flow generation, whilst delivering both ARR and revenue growth. With cybercriminals increasingly opting to launch DDoS attacks on corporations, or even using DDoS as camouflage for ransomware attacks, there is plenty of demand for Corero to capitalise on, though they facing increasing competition from the major security platforms as customers seek to consolidate the number of security products they use.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:26
Israel-headquartered, AIM-listed maritime AI company Windward has announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2023.
As per the trading update published in January (see Windward’s strong finish sets up expectation of FY23 results “ahead of forecasts”) the company finished the year with revenue up 31% to $28.3m. In the end, EBITDA loss came out slightly better than predicted ($5m – as opposed to the $5.1m figure in the trading update, and compared with a figure of $12.1m for FY22).
The company’s gross margin improved by 700 base points to 79% (up 100bpts from the hallway point – see Double-digit growth at Windward shows continued appetite for maritime AI).
Windward reports that it grew its customer base by over 50% to 200+ during FY23. It also signed a partnership with London Stock Exchange Group in February 2024, extending its reach with compliance and risk management solutions beyond the maritime domain.Its fuel consumption (and hence carbon emission) reduction angle should prove to be an increasingly attractive one throughout the year, with the renewed focus around energy efficiency in all markets (COP28’s landmark agreement in December 2023 having included pledges to double energy efficiency measures by 2030, see COP28’s Call to Arms for the Tech Industry).
The company cites growing its commercial presence (particularly in the US Government market), expanding partnerships, and further investment in its AI product roadmap amongst its priorities for 2024 - with the Board "confident in achieving results for FY24 in line with market expectations".
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:03
Tags: results maritime carbon reduction
Suffolk HQ’d integrated space management platform provider, SmartSpace Software plc is to be acquired by Florida-based workplace software specialist, Sign In Solutions (SIS). The cash offer of £28.4m will see the UK business, which started life 24 years ago as an AIM company called Coms offering telecoms and IT infrastructure services, go into private American ownership.
SmartSpace, which counts Allianz, Boss, DHL and Mobil amongst its clients, has in more recent times been progressively reinventing itself as a pure SaaS business. This process was completed last summer with the disposal of its hardware distribution arm, Anders + Kern. The business has been through several changes of ownership and focus during over the years. In 2018 and trading as RedstoneConnect, the company made what we described at the time as “a brave move” to sell off its profitable systems integration and managed services divisions to focus on growing its much smaller software business. In FY22 the firm saw revenue increase by 11% yoy of £5.14m and generate an EBITDA loss of £2.49m.
PSG Equity-backed SIS provides cloud-based visitor, identity and risk management software. The company employs some 250 personnel in four countries including the UK where it has offices in Northampton and Bournemouth. Smartspace’s SwipedOn visitor & employee management and Space Connect desk & meeting room booking platforms are logical additions to the SIS product portfolio.
Commenting on the purchase, Guy van Zwanenberg, chairman of SmartSpace, stated that he feels that the time is opportune for our shareholders and employees to take advantage of the opportunities being offered with SIS. While the decision to sell no doubt makes good sense to the acquiree, it is always sad to see a further depletion of the pool of UK-based tech businesses.
Posted by: Duncan Aitchison at 09:02
Tags: acquisition saas software propertymanagement
Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be the hot topic grabbing all the headlines, but it is not the only technology that has the potential to accelerate digital transformation, disrupt how we leverage data, and deliver significant productivity gains.
One such technology is Quantum computing, a rapidly developing field that many organisations are currently underestimating and unprepared to fully leverage. The development of more sophisticated quantum solutions will enable compute speeds to eclipse even the most powerful supercomputers, and while practical quantum applications at scale are still a few years off, a select few organisations are already piloting the technology. Use cases for quantum extend across multiple industries including; Financial Services (e.g. risk scoring and investment modelling), Pharmaceuticals (e.g. drug discovery), Manufacturing (e.g. Battery design & aerodynamics) and Transportation (e.g. route optimisation)
The UK in particular has been a hotbed for quantum computing development, with notable UK HQ’ed suppliers including; Oxford Quantum circuits, Oxford Ionics and Orca computing, whilst many of the larger SITS managed services providers such as Fujitsu, Eviden and IBM have also invested significantly into developing quantum solutions.
In this new report we will explore the latest developments in the field of quantum computing, the growing supplier landscape, practical examples of getting value from quantum solutions, and the potential impact of the convergence of quantum computing with AI, a prospect that may be closer than you think.
TechMarketView has also partnered with the Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence to bring a unique perspective from academia, with Dr Andrew Rogoyski sharing his views on the skills we will need in the future and how to cultivate the right talent.
If you are a subscriber to TechSectorViews you can access the Quantum acceleration is on the horizon report today. If you don’t have a subscription and would like to gain access the report and our other research and services please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 07:40
Tags: quantum
Posted by: HotViews Editor at 07:30
Atos’ financial position is precarious. You’d have to have been living under a rock not to have picked up on that already. Today’s financial results (for the year ending 31st December 2023) serve to put a bit more meat on the bone (see here in the UKHotViews archive and work back).
In TechMarketView’s latest research note, Chief Analyst, Georgina O’Toole, gives her view on the current situation, given recent developments, and what the future might hold for the French IT services company.
TechMarketView subscribers can access the UKHotViewsExtra article – Atos FY23: uncertainty on multiple fronts – now. If you are not yet a subscriber – or are unsure if your organisation has a corporate subscription – please contact Deb Seth to find out how to access the research and other valuable resources.
Posted by: Georgina O'Toole at 10:15
Tags: results itservices corporateactivity debt financing
Global professional services firm Aon has launched Climate Risk Monitor to help clients visualise and better understand their exposures to physical climate risk so they can make more informed business decisions.
Aon has developed the tool in response to the increase in climate-related claims in the property insurance market (with reportedly $112bn of insured losses caused by weather-related incidents last year). Climate Risk Monitor assesses an organisation’s current and future exposures to drought, extreme rainfall, extreme heat, freeze, and wildfire under different climate change scenarios – reporting on the impact to individual assets, across an overall portfolio, and from a regional perspective. The idea is that risk managers can then use this data to better understand climate risk, and then work with Aon’s brokers to optimise their insurance cover.
The tool was developed in Aon’s Climate Hub in Singapore (supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board), and builds on the company’s academic collaborations, risk management expertise, and its Impact Forecasting Suite of global catastrophe models.
The need to better understand, mitigate, and insure against climate risk (as extreme climate and weather-related events continue to wreak havoc) has prompted innovations in PropTech and InsureTech that straddle Nature monitoring & management and Green finance use cases (amongst others) – all of which feature in TechMarketView’s Sustainability Technology Activity Index (our unique take in the sustainability technology landscape).
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:56
Tags: PropTech InsureTech climate risk
In line with January’s trading update, AIM-listed digital mental health business, Kooth plc, achieved year-on-year growth of 66% in FY23 (year ended 31 December 2023) taking revenue to £33.3m (FY22: £20.1m).
This impressive performance, albeit lower than the ‘no less than £34m’ guidance at H1 (see US contracts drive H1 growth for Kooth), was driven by significant growth in the US market. Revenue in this region was up grew from £1.5m in FY22 to £14.2m in FY23 due to its $188m, four-year contract with the California Department of Health Care Services (see Kooth digital mental health platform launches in California) and its pilot project in the State of Pennsylvania. The UK still represents the largest proportion (57%) of Kooth’s income, but growth here was slower—up 3% to £19.1m (FY22: £18.6m).
Despite this revenue growth, operating losses increased from £0.9m to £2.3m and losses before tax increased from £0.8m to £2.0m—this was largely due to increased employee costs. Adjusted EBITDA was £2.3m (FY22: £1.6m). Cash and cash equivalents were £11.0m (FY22: £8.5m) after the company raised £10m of equity in July to help fund accelerated growth in the US.
Kooth saw the proportion of UK contracts that expand upon renewal rise to 41% (FY22: 38%), but this was offset by £2.3m of churn (FY22: £2.0m). Management said this was the result of NHS budgetary pressures, contract consolidation and a small number of competitive losses.
The company is significantly ahead of schedule on its US expansion strategy and should be able to use its work in California as a springboard for further growth in the country. The UK is more challenging, but a combination of high demand for mental health services, a lack of skilled staff and the drive for productivity improvements in the NHS, should lead to further opportunities for the business.
2023 was a transformational year for Kooth and it is positive about its platform for growth in 2024. It has good forward revenue visibility, ending the year with £64.6m Annual Recurring Revenue (up from £21.1m a year ago), and has opportunities for further expansion, particularly in the US.
Posted by: Dale Peters at 09:54
Tags: results nhs USA healthcare mental+health
Accenture and long-standing partner, Adobe are to build industry-specific, Generative AI solutions. The expansion the 20-year relationship between the two companies will see the integration of Adobe Firefly Custom Models into the marketing services offered by Accenture Song, to provide clients with the insights required to train bespoke models on their proprietary data and brand guidelines. The initial focus of the co-development programme will be on the retail and consumer goods, automotive, financial services and health verticals.
The enhanced alliance with Adobe is the latest Gen AI collaboration that Accenture has established with its major partners. In December, the company unveiled the creation a global, joint Generative AI Center of Excellence (CoE) with Google (see here). The second half of last year also saw Accenture announce cooperative Gen AI initiatives with AWS, Microsoft and Nvidia.
The targeting of the marketing Gen AI segment is timely. As we noted in our recent UK Customer Experience Market report, the potential opportunities in to capitalise on these new technologies in this arena are myriad. They range from generating dynamic marketing campaigns and personalised user guides to streamlining customer service and gaining deeper insights into customers and loyalty by analysing behavioural data.
Posted by: Duncan Aitchison at 09:51
Tags: partnership marketingautomation genAI
First half results (six months to end January) from infrastructure product and services firm, Softcat, show operating profit climbed 5.8% over the comparable period in 2023. Gross Invoiced Income (GII) was up 4.0% while revenue was down 8.8% to (£467.2m) on lower hardware volumes as customers continued to digest large purchases and sweat their end user estates. The company anticipates that this will ultimately “come back strongly”.
I caught up with Softcat CEO, Graham Charlton, shortly after the figures were released early doors. He said he was “very pleased with the results on a tough compare with last year”. Charlton also said the firm’s operating profit was “slightly ahead of where we expected to be” and that it continues to “build and invest for the longer term”.
See last year's FY analysis here.
Word of warning when you flick through VAR financials. Gross Invoiced Income is the more useful way to understand underlying performance. For Softcat, hardware, software, and services are reported under IFRS15 on a mix of gross and net basis. In Services, some are reported gross and some net, depending on the nature of the services delivery. A shift in the first half towards those reported net impacted the services revenue growth line. Apologies if you haven’t had enough coffee yet.
Shares were up c.5.0% at time of writing.
Posted by: Kate Hanaghan at 09:50
Tags: results channel VAR
Aim listed Crossword Cybersecurity has launched a new CyberAI Practice. The practice, which sits within Crossword Cybersecurity's Consulting business, consolidates artificial intelligence (AI) expertise into a centre of excellence that will deliver AI-focused cybersecurity consulting services and products to help clients harness the power of AI.
Crossword has already led a significant initiative in investigating the application of Generative AI to cyber security. This has been conducted with industry partners and universities, including Oxford University and MIT in the USA and AI researchers from the Alan Turing Institute.
Since the rise in adoption of AI large language models (LLMs), we have seen the emergence of many new tools which must be assessed and assured so that adoption is controlled and does not pose legal, reputational, or commercial threats. The CyberAI Practice from Crossword will provide modular services designed to support the assessment and development of LLM architectures, LLM security testing, design and security architecture reviews, and wider LLM-related engineering services. It will also provide CyberAI onsite workshops - education and maturity workshops to help organisations understand the market, assess their needs and existing AI use, and consult on whether to 'build or buy'.
In the first half of 2023, Crossword shifted its focus to establishing a clear path to profitability – See Profitability the focus for Crossword Cybersecurity. H2 has seen revenue growth not perform as expected, despite a strong pipeline, conversion to contracts has slowed down, pushing several potential deals into FY24. As a result, Crossword expects FY23 revenue to be in the range of £4.1m to £4.3m, as opposed to the previously guided £6m of revenue, this would represent yoy growth of around 15%, so still not bad by any means, but quite a fall from the 68% growth we saw in FY22.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:49
Cambridge HQ’d productivity software provider, GetBusy plc maintained double-digit growth during FY23. Turnover for the twelve months ended 31st December increased by 10% yoy at constant currency to £21.1m of which 96% was recurring revenue (FY22: 95%). The H2 top line was, however, all but flat sequentially and the 6% pace of yoy expansion for the period dipped to less than half that achieved in the first half of the year (see here). Adjusted EBITDA, which turned positive for the first time FY22, remained in the black and improved over 50% yoy to exceed £1m. The underlying group loss for the most recent fiscal narrowed by 6% to £509k.
GetBusy focuses on document and task management software for the professional and financial services markets with c.70% of sales derived from the accountancy sector. The AIM-listed company saw the pace of growth pick up significantly in the UK last year. Sales here, which account for almost two fifths of world-wide revenue, rose by 14.1% yoy (FY22: 4.5%). Conversely, progress in the US, the software provider’s largest geographic region, slowed significantly compared with the c.50% top line improvement achieved in the prior year. Turnover of £10.9m from this territory was up 9.5% yoy in FY23.
Looking ahead, GetBusy believes that the investments that continues to make in both the expansion and enhancement of its go-to-market capabilities and product development will sustain double-digit ARR growth over the long-term. The current year is reported to have started well, with growth across the Group through a combination of new business, account development and price improvement. Investor confidence also appears to be returning. At the time of writing the company’s share price was up 23% from the 52-week low point hit last November.
Posted by: Duncan Aitchison at 09:40
Tags: results software documentmanagement
UK software vendor Pebble Beach Systems (Pebble) who specialise in playout, content management, and IP control solutions for the broadcast and media technology markets, has posted solid revenue growth for FY23 as it invests in a new software platform due to be released this year.
Results were ahead of expectations, with revenue for FY23 of £12.4m, up 11% yoy, this includes recurring revenue from support, maintenance and subscription arrangements up 13% to £5.2m. Recurring revenue represents 42% (2022: 41%) of total, and management expect an upward trend in recurring revenue to accelerate over 2024.
Pebble's primary product offering is playout automation software, the execution of television schedules for broadcast channels. This market primarily consists of television broadcast companies, and service providers that offer outsourced services for the broadcasters. Pebble customers include; Fox News, CNBC, IMG, TV Globo. The broader market also includes some major streaming services, particularly those carrying live content.
Pebble continues to invest in project 'Oceans', its new software platform, which will be launched publicly in April as PRIMA; Platform for Real-time Media Applications. The software platform provides customers with increased flexibility, scalability, and security for Pebble solutions.
We continue to see broadcast and streaming services evolve, with the media industry seeking more flexible and efficient use of IT infrastructure. This has driven significant adoption of cloud computing, often a combination of public services such as Amazon and Google, private cloud, and hybrid. AI is also playing an important role in transforming the media industry, both in driving productivity gains and supporting content creation. The BBC for example recently announced it is making plans to build its own artificial intelligence foundational models which could then power products, such as tools to help journalists produce stories, that can be used in-house.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:29
Retail-focused software company K3 Business Technologies has announced results for its 2023 financial year (ended 30 November 2023). Total revenue fell 7% (on a constant currency basis) to £43.8m, which the company attributed mainly due to lower revenue – particularly in H2 – from its Global Accounts arm (which predominantly provides specialist services to the Inter IKEA Concept overseas franchisee network). UK revenue fell slightly (<1%) to £16.3m.
The company reports revenue split across its own strategic product division (29.9% of the total, increasing 3.9% to £13m) and its third-party reseller and global accounts operations (making up the bulk of sales, which fell by 11.5%).
Total annual recurring revenue (ARR) was up 10.2% to £24.7m. Within that, K3’s “fashion portfolio” (part of the company’s Products Division, focused on providing Microsoft Dynamics 365-based ERM, CRM, and business intelligence software tailored to the needs of fashion and apparel brands) posted ARR up 28% to £5.8m, with K3 citing the fashion and apparel market offering the “highest-margin, highest growth opportunity”.
At the halfway point in FY23, and as in previous years K3, was looking to its H2 to deliver seasonally stronger performance (see K3 revenues climb slightly in H1, driven by strong growth in ARR). However total revenues for the year fell overall – dragged down by a drop in the third-party operations which make up over 70% of the total. K3’s Board admits that “limited new IKEA store openings” have hit its Global Accounts revenue, but that it’s “taken remedial action […] in light of more subdued activity […] to develop new ways of working in response to franchisee needs”. Despite K3 continuing to anticipate “a lower-level of [Global Accounts] activity in the short to medium term”, the company expects “to generate increased cash and deliver a further improvement in adjusted operating profit” in FY24.
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:23
Tags: results fashion apparel franchise
AIM-listed remote monitoring specialist Big Technologies – best known by its brand name Buddi – achieved double-digit organic revenue growth in 2023, up 10% to £55m (13% in constant currency), driven by both new contract wins and an increase in revenues from existing customers.
Criminal justice remains by far Big Technologies’ biggest market with some 98% of revenues derived from sector again last year. Geographically, AsiaPac dominates, followed by the Americas. But revenue growth in FY23 was driven by Europe, up 50% to £7.6m on the back of a new government contract in the UK criminal justice sector awarded in 2022 which increased in volume during the year, and Asia-Pac, up 11% to £32m. Revenue in the Americas region declined by 4% to £15m and is set to fall again in FY24 following the end of a contract in Columbia.
As in the first half, profitability in FY23 was impacted by the strengthening pound and statutory operating profit dipped to £16.8m, from £20.6m in FY22. The group remains highly cash generative though and ended the year with a net cash balance of £86m, which we expect Big Technologies to use to fund acquisitions if it can find the right opportunities. Partners in the Americas region, which would help it to access these growing markets more quickly, must be high on the target list.
Indeed, increasing its US market presence is a strategic priority for Big Technologies this year – it’s the world’s largest market for electronic monitoring and substance detection technologies and Big Technologies remains under-represented there – as is the launch of its new Buddi substance detection technologies. Big Technologies is now offering its body-warn alcohol detection product, Buddi AlcoTag, and supporting software to priority customers.
As for the outlook, whilst the longer-term position is supported by growth in electronic monitoring in criminal justice, in the short-term Big Technologies’ sales and profits will be impacted by the ending of the contract in Columbia. Reading between the lines, despite a solid pipeline, management is expecting both revenues and profits to decline in FY24, before a return to growth in 2025 and beyond.
Posted by: Tola Sargeant at 09:16
Tags: results health justice
The founder and CEO of digital consultancy, Onepoint, David Layani (pictured), seems to make a habit of making public statements that then require Atos to publish its own press release.
It was 18 months ago, in September 2022, that Onepoint first started showing an interest in Atos. At that time, Atos received an unsolicited offer from the company (and private equity fund, ICG) for the part of Atos that was then known as Evidian. Onepoint stated its goal was to make the Big Data and Cybersecurity part of Atos’ business an independent French champion with an international reach, “while ensuring technological sovereignty and employment development in France and Europe”.
Atos rejected the offer, despite Onepoint asserting that the alliance would allow it to gain one year on its transformation project and to generate, more rapidly than the envisaged timeline, sufficient financial resources to support the transformation of historical activities as well as the continuity of its development.
Then in November 2023, Onepoint announced that it had become an anchor investor in Atos (see Perseverance from Onepoint in Atos Eviden pursuit | TechMarketView) with a 9.9% stake, leading to Atos making a statement welcoming Onepoint and stating it looked forward to constructive dialogue in the interests of stakeholders. A month later, Onepoint was ahead of the Atos game again when it announced an upping of its stake to 11.4%.
Last week’s revelation that Airbus had ended negotiations aimed at acquiring Atos’ Big Data & Security business has left Atos with limited options to secure its future (Atos shares down 20% as Airbus ends Big Data & Security pursuit | TechMarketView.) Considering Layani’s ambitions, it’s unsurprising that he is taking the opportunity to put himself forward as Atos’ white knight.
According to Le Figaro, he has stated he is prepared to head a rescue plan for the tech Group. His plan, it seems, would align with the objective of the French Finance Ministry, which is determined to protect the strategic assets of Atos. Layani seems to believe that Atos should stop pursuing asset sales and, instead, focus on protecting the integrity of all the Group’s assets. That suggests that he would not go back to his earlier plan of trying to acquire the Eviden business. However, he does appear to be willing to make further investments in Atos and become involved in the Group’s capital restructuring.
Atos’ statement this morning acknowledges Layani’s comments, but states that his plans have not yet been put to Atos’ Board of Directors. It will discuss various strategic alternatives this week. Atos and Eviden employees – and clients – continue to face significant uncertainty. With Atos and Eviden now looking like they will remain under the Atos Group umbrella, there is a big question mark over whether some of the strategic decisions of the last year or so will be reversed.
Posted by: Georgina O'Toole at 09:41
Tags: funding itservices corporateactivity investors
The London Borough of Merton has awarded a £1m contract to Idox for a cloud-based platform to manage land and property services (including planning, building control, local land charges, and public protection – including environmental health housing and regulatory services).
The new solution will replace the council’s current legacy system, and will be designed to improve efficiencies with a fully integrated system that negates the need for back-office staff to manually enter data, supports mobile working, and provides self-service features that improve customer / citizen experience.
Although not mentioned in the contract award notice, the original invitation to tender described the project as being 10 years in length, with a five-year break clause.
Idox featured as on of our Suppliers on the rise in TechMarketView’s recent Local & Regional Government Suppliers, Trends, and Forecasts 2023-2026 report, with double-digit growth in its 2022 financial year; performance it repeated in FY23 (ended 31 October 2023) – up 11% to £73.3m (see Idox delivers double-digit revenue growth).
In 2022 Idox implemented a new three-division structure: Land, Property & Public Protection (LPPP), Communities, and Assets. FY23 saw revenue from the LPPP business (59% of the total) climb 24% to £43.4m (including £2.7m contributed by August 2023 acquisition Emapsite – see Idox acquires Great British Scaleup Emapsite.com), showing a continued healthy demand for the company’s services across local government.
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:37
Tags: contract property services
Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI is stepping down from his role at the company to ‘pursue decentralized AI’ in a shock move for the UK startup.
The announcement comes days after the company saw several other key developers resign. Three out of the five researchers who originally created the technology behind the popular Stable Diffusion AI model have left the company recently. In November, Ed Newton-Rex, the head of the audio team at Stability AI also resigned over the company’s stance on training generative models on copyrighted works – See The fight over AI content copyright.
Stability AI has become one of the UK’s biggest players in the generative AI space, in particular in the field of image and audio generation through its Stable Diffusion and Stable Audio models. Founded in 2019, the firm has raised more than £120m in funding and has been valued at over $1bn. But it has been under recent financial pressure from investors, spending a reported $8m a month, and unsuccessfully attempting to raise new funding. There have also been legal issues, controversary around its development approach, and ability to pay its bills. In the interim, Stability AI has appointed COO Shan Shan Wong and CTO Christian Laforte as co-CEOs to lead the company while it conducts a search for a permanent replacement, but with such abundant choice of AI models for organisations to choose from, would you really want to sink your budget into a company that seems to be on the verge of crumbling?
The change at Stability follows the announcement last week that former co-founder and CEO of Inflection AI, Mustafa Suleyman (who was also co-founder of Google Deepmind) left the company to join Microsoft. Suleyman will run a newly formed consumer AI unit, called Microsoft AI. Many of Inflection’s staff is joining Microsoft AI, including co-founder Karén Simonyan who is now the chief scientist of Microsoft AI. The latest coup by Microsoft has echoes of the situation with Open AI, when the company tried to poach Sam Altman after he temporarily exited the firm (See - (See The OpenAI saga... & The Sam Altman and OpenAI Saga.
This leaves Inflection seeking to try and pivot to enterprise offerings, with the company posting it will shift its focus to the AI studio business, where it builds and tests customer generative AI models. In June 2023 Inflection raised $1.3bn on a $4bn valuation with investors including Microsoft and Nvidia – See Inflection AI raises $1.3bn for its "friendly" message app chatbot. With its key developers gone and its core product no longer the primary focus, its unclear if the company will be able to carve itself a slice of the increasingly competitive AI market.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:24
Posted by: HotViews Editor at 09:21
© TechMarketView LLP 2007-2024: Unauthorised reproduction prohibited see full Terms and Conditions.