From left: Allen Martin, partner, Kernel Capital; Mark Godfrey, CEO, Automated Intelligence; Simon Cole, CTO, Automated Intelligence; William McCulla, director of corporate finance, Invest NI; and Gavin Kennedy, head of business banking, Bank of Ireland UK. Image: Kernel Capital
GDPR represents a golden opportunity for this fast-growing Northern Ireland enterprise software player.
Belfast-based Automated Intelligence has raised £1.5m in a funding round.
The investment comprises £1m of investment from the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI), with the remainder coming from an existing private investor.
‘This significant investment will allow us to market these world-leading products and services to organisations of all sizes who need to achieve GDPR compliance’
– MARK GODFREY
Currently employing 65 people, this round of funding will enable Automated Intelligence to expand into new geographical markets, building upon the success the business has achieved over the past seven years.
With more than 100 national and global blue-chip, central and local government customers, Automated Intelligence is a leading Microsoft Gold Partner.
“AI has an impressive and ambitious management team that has successfully engineered and deployed a suite of products that help customers to manage the exponential growth in digital data,” said Allen Martin, partner at Kernel Capital.
“Against a backdrop of new regulatory data requirements, we look forward to supporting the team at AI as they seek to further grow their team in Belfast and scale internationally.”
Behold these northern lights
Automated Intelligence was established in 2010 by CEO Mark Godfrey and CTO Simon Cole.
The company’s technology provides deep analysis on information quickly and accurately, categorising the data before securely moving valuable content to productivity platforms such as Microsoft Office 365.
In line with GDPR requirements, which come into effect next year, Automated Intelligence’s software automatically enforces appropriate governance across all content to reduce cost, legal and reputational risk while simultaneously improving organisational productivity.
“Next year, a new European-wide data protection regulation will come into force (GDPR), which is the biggest data protection change in almost 20 years,” Godfrey said.
“This is an exciting time for AI when we are seeing an unparalleled level of interest in our GDPR compliance solutions. This significant investment will allow us to market these world-leading products and services to organisations of all sizes who need to achieve GDPR compliance. Working alongside Microsoft, we will help organisations understand, and take control of, all the information they hold, regardless of where it is.”
The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI) was designed to help SMEs in Northern Ireland to accelerate their growth. Invest Northern Ireland has committed £15m of funding to this fund, which is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
“Through our partnership with Kernel Capital, we are delighted to support AI as they embark on the next stage of their growth plans,” said Gavin Kennedy, head of business banking, Bank of Ireland UK.
“The ability to securely and accurately manage digital data is of paramount importance to companies across the globe, and, once again, a Northern Ireland-based company is delivering innovative solutions.”
