Techspert.io has secured £1 million in its second funding round to find and evaluate on-demand experts for business.
Set up in 2016, the UK-based team has developed the first search engine capable of scouring the internet for experts available to answer the complex questions of all types of business.
The Cambridge-based company plans to eliminate companies’ current dependency on established ‘expert networks’ like that of current market-leader, US-based Gerson Lehrman Group.
Its AI pinpoints niche specialists who may not be members of current networks, in any given country, and quantitatively evaluates expertise in a move to create greater objectivity and transparency.
Previously named ‘Biotechspert’, techspert.io will now build on its profitable start in the healthcare and life sciences sectors to target the $5 billion ‘economy of knowledge’ – the global spend on sourcing and speaking to experts across all sectors and geographies.
“Our vision is for any company with a thorny question to get a better answer, quicker,” said co-founder and managing director David Holden-White.
“Before techspert.io, companies seeking specialist knowledge typically had to use experts signed up to networks, leading to a high degree of self-selection.
“The AI enables techspert to learn continuously, adjusting its ranking as it perfects its ability to recognise genuine expertise, and to evolve as experts do,”
The funding round was led by Cambridge angel Simon Thorpe, a previous investor in Swiftkey and Vocal IQ, bought by Google and Apple respectively, and backed by Angel CoFund, a venture capital fund that co-invests alongside syndicates of sector-smart angel investors.
John Spearman, GW Asia Capital Ltd and Adrian Lloyd also participated, and all three non-exec directors from round one have re-invested.
Lead investor Simon Thorpe added: “The company has already proved its capability and market fit by satisfying one sector.
“This investment will accelerate techspert.io’s plans to revolutionise expert input across many other industry sectors.”