River Capital has been named the winner of the Best New Product/Service award for its dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) fund, fund:AI at the Growth Investor Awards 2023 held in London last night.
Fund:AI was chosen as the Best New Product/Service winner by an independent panel of judges drawn from the alternative investment industry and wider business community.
fund:AI is the first Northern dedicated AI fund, targeting the underfished waters of the North for high-growth AI investment opportunities. It concentrates on two approaches. The first are AI, Machine Learning or Data Science companies. The second are companies (particularly where they already have large data sets) who are not primarily AI companies, but who wish to apply these technologies to real life business issues.
Launched in November 2022 and with investment typically between £500k to £2m available to qualifying businesses, fund:AI is an EIS fund intended for investors who want to achieve capital growth by investing in early-stage, unquoted companies which have the potential to increase significantly in value.
Since inception, the fund, the first of its kind in the North, has invested in standout businesses including Southport VR gaming company Fallen Planet (to support the development of new titles with AI) and innovative Liverpool veterinary practice VidiVet (to embark on a computer vision, IOT and deep learning journey) with further deals imminent.
Speaking on the award, River Capital Investment Director David Walters said:
“I am thrilled that our evergreen EIS AI fund, fund:AI, has been recognised as the Best New Product/Service at this year’s Growth Investor Awards 2023. This achievement highlights our commitment and success in supporting fantastic Northern businesses on their AI and machine learning journeys.
Since launching in November 2022, we have developed a management team and advisory board that are second to none and have completed investments in innovative companies like Fallen Planet and VidiVet that showcases the strength of our pipeline.
With further deals imminent, we’re looking forward to working with more exciting AI businesses across the North”
With the award win, River Capital now looks forward to cementing its place at the forefront of AI investing in the North and welcomes contact from interested parties, be they companies seeking investment or investors seeking AI exposure.