Mindtech raises over £4m to power the future of computer vision training
Mindtech Global, a leader in developing synthetic data to train AI vision systems, has secured £4.4m in a funding round led by Edge and including Mercia Ventures, which was investing from its own funds and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The latest funding round will enable the Sheffield-based company to further develop its technology, accelerate its presence in key markets including Japan, the US and Europe and continue its partnerships with industry leaders.
Mindset solves a key challenge for AI developers – how to source sufficient images and datasets to train computer vision systems to identify humans or objects in different settings and recognise small but significant differences. Its Chameleon platform uses games technology to create a virtual world and generate a diverse range of realistic images – for example with different backgrounds and objects, people with different ethnicities and at varying times of day or night.
Chameleon reduces costs and development time, while ensuring companies have legal ownership of data and comply with privacy laws. The use of diverse images also avoids creating bias within AI systems. Mindtech’s latest platform, Dolphin, analyses a company’s current training database and identifies issues such as bias, lack of diversity and sparsity of training data.
Mindset originated from an idea from a group of industry veterans including Sir Hossein Yassaie, former CEO of chip manufacturer Imagination Technologies. The company now has a team of around 25 people and its technology is used in sectors including retail, healthcare, transportation and robotics.
The latest investment comes at a pivotal time. Analyst Gartner forecasts that by 2025, synthetic data will account for the majority of data used in AI training due to growing concerns about data scarcity.
“This investment marks a pivotal moment for our company. With this support, we’re able to advance our technology and meet the growing demand for robust AI vision solutions across sectors.”
Steve Harris, CEO of Mindtech
“We are delighted to back Mindtech’s vision. Their ethical, GDPR-compliant, synthetic data platform solves the global data scarcity issue highlighted by Gartner, enabling the promise of AI vision to be realised 10x faster than before.”
Fiona Dent, General Partner at Edge
“The world is on the verge of a major shift in uptake of AI in computer vision. However, there is a lack of datasets for real-world scenarios and for all eventualities, as they are hard to come by and aren’t GDPR compliant. Mindtech is a leader in this emerging market and enables machines to be trained on synthetic datasets that are highly realistic, therefore it has the potential to be a key building block of vision AI infrastructure.”
Ashwin Kumaraswamy of Mercia Ventures
“The first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) was established to support northern businesses like Mindtech, enabling them to unlock potential and create jobs in the region – this is exactly what Steve and the team has done, now boasting a team of 25 employees. We are proud to support a business in the region who are succeeding in the data and AI sector and look forward to seeing how Mindtech continues to grow.”
Keira Shepperson, Director at the British Business Bank
About Mindtech
Mindtech Global is the developer of DataOps platforms for intelligently engineered synthetic data, enabling better AI models through data analysis, visualisation and curation. The company’s platforms – Chameleon and Dolphin empower rapid deployment of customer applications ranging across smart city.
Mindtech is headquartered in the UK, with operations across the US and Far East and is funded by investors including Mercia, Deeptech Labs, In-Q-Tel, Edge and Appen.
About Edge
Edge Investments is a specialist creative-tech venture capital investor, backing visionary businesses who push boundaries and deliver lasting impact through emerging technologies. Its mission is to discover the innovators that will redefine the future and develop category-leading companies. Edge has £125m of assets under management. It invests in Seed and Series A stage UK companies, in rounds of up to £5m, with the ability to provide follow-on capital. Edge offers its portfolio companies an expansive, engaged network of senior experts across a wide range of sectors and backgrounds. From start-up founders to big technology companies and established blue chips, Edge’s connections support its portfolio, helping open impossible doors.
About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II
Operated by the British Business Bank, NPIF II provides a mix of debt and equity funding. NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the North’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.
The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire & Warrington, Cumbria, Liverpool City Region, Leeds City Region, South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority, York & North Yorkshire, Humber and East Yorkshire, Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne & Wear
Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
