Klydo, an AI-powered research assistant, has raised £1m in a funding round led by Episode 1 Ventures.
The assistant uses machine learning to help consumer brands accelerate their product innovation.
Klydo’s round also drew support from retail and consumer sector specialist True and William Tunstall-Pedoe (founder of AI assistant “Evi”, acquired by Amazon to create Alexa).
The cash will go towards team expansion and to accelerate Klydo’s reach in the consumer brand space.
Nick Schweitzer, CEO and co-founder of Klydo, commented: “In today’s fast-paced world, we can no longer rely on chance to have breakthrough innovation ideas. Klydo taps into the wealth of information that exists online to offer brands a unique perspective of what’s happening in their market and these insights spark breakthrough product ideas. Unlike other AI companies focussing solely on automation and optimisation, we’re using AI to enhance people’s creative potential to solve problems and innovate.”
Klydo is headquartered in London where Episode 1 Ventures is also based.
Paul McNabb, managing partner of Episode 1, explained why he had backed the startup: “This was one of those where everything came together. A strong technical founding team, truly innovative technology and a clear customer use case.”
Episode 1 Ventures is an early-stage venture capital investor that manages a £60m Enterprise Capital Fund, looking to invest between £250k and £1m into high potential software-based businesses with significant operations in the UK.
Oksana Stowe, Principal at True, also commented on the startup’s fundraise: “With our initial close for Fund II completing in September, we’re delighted that within weeks, our first investment from this fund has been in Klydo. We look forward to working closely with the team over the coming months to excel the business.”
True has total funds under management of £200m and invests in retail, consumer and leisure sector business models which represent the future of the industry.