AI start-up uses £580k funding to target burgeoning media sector
New media sector start-up, North AI, has raised almost £600,000 in funding to kick-start its offer which will help streamers, producers, studios and advertisers make smarter decisions over their content.
The Manchester-based business has received £280,000 grant funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency, with a further £300,000 funding led by SFC Capital, as well as private angel investors from the media industry.
North AI has been co-founded by the team from Paus, a VC-backed tech start-up that was acquired last year by LATAM media company, Cindie.
The co-founders are Rishi Kapoor, Lucas Cazelli and Oleh Kurtianyk and are based in Use.Space, Paddock Street, where they set up Paus.tv.
The company uses artificial intelligence to predict the value of premium video content. It says its unique AI model measures and predicts global demand by combining its own AI model with primary data from real audiences to predict future returns and impact for video content.
The co-founders said North AI aims to be the central hub that helps the film and TV sector analyse the commercial risk, potential gains and marketability of old and new titles, with plans to expand into the advertising space further down the line.
CEO, Rishi Kapoor, a former employee of Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “In my last company, we spoke with literally thousands of producers, financiers, distributors and brands.
“All of them faced the same issue, knowing what they should be creating, selling or buying, as well as how it should be positioned, what were the target markets and what audiences truly wanted. That is what North AI is here to solve.”
Ed Stevenson, SFC Capital Investment Executive, said: “We’re excited to be investing in North AI alongside grant funding from the UK Government, and see the impact that AI-powered analytics can have in the ever changing media landscape.”
North AI is already onboarding partners, such as streaming services and independent production companies, to have early access to the predictive insights model, and the company plans to raise a larger investment round later this year.
