Scottish AI start-up aims innovative product at gig economy 

A Scottish technology start-up has been awarded an Innovate UK grant to create Artificial Intelligence (AI) that simplifies how companies can source and on-board top on-demand UK talent. 

GIGGED.AI, based in Glasgow, is investing further in the development of its talent platform that aims to take on large global players in a market that McKinsey estimates will be worth $2.7 trillion by 2025. 

Funding was granted to the firm through Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund, after they enlisted the support of The Data Lab’s External Funding Service to strengthen their application.  

The GIGGED.AI tool uses cutting-edge conversational artificial intelligence to allow clients to qualify work packages that are then defined into a statement of work (SOW).

GIGGED.AI has developed unique algorithms that minimize geographical bias to match the most relevant on-demand talent to a specific statement of work. GIGGED.AI estimate that 90% of statement of works will be completed remotely and that the platform can reduce onboarding time by six weeks, allowing projects to deliver faster and within budget. One of the Innovate UK assessors states that “this has clear potential to be a game changer”.  

John Brodie, chairman of GIGGED.AI said: “The Future of Work and the Gig economy are hot topics right now and GIGGED.AI is an innovative product with huge growth potential. The product is a digital talent platform powered by Artificial Intelligence that allows clients to create a Statement of Work in real time then match it to the best gig talent in the UK. The platform also offers the growing number of gig workers in the UK a great way to work on exciting digital projects. 

“Innovate UK and The Data Lab have been hugely supportive of the project and we are excited to launch. This is one the most exciting startups in Scotland with great things ahead in 2021 and beyond.“ 

Adam Turner, external funding service lead at The Data Lab said: “As we recover from the pandemic there will be fundamental shifts in the labour market, including companies adopting global employee bases, meaning the demand for top talent will only increase. It’s great to see GIGGED.AI tools leveraging Data and AI to make completing the often confusing statement of work process easy and intuitive, before matching seamlessly to on-demand talent.”

Earlier this year, The Data Lab launched its External Funding Service to aid Scottish based companies in their quest to unlock available grant funding. To date, the team have supported over 65 Scottish companies in securing over £20million in data related innovation funding. The service provides the support of an experienced funding manager to maximise the impact of applications, as well as access to data scientists, project managers and system architects to expand research and development activities. To find out more, visit: www.thedatalab.com/support-to-innovate/external-funding/.