Early-stage investment firm Anthemis and Cambridge AI Venture Partners (CAIVP), as well as a team comprised of industry experts Sir Andy Hopper, Prof Rob Mullins, Dr Gavin Ferris and Mike Halsall, today announce the launch of CommonAI, a collaborative engineering and computing platform for AI-enabled start-ups, enterprises, engineers, academics and investors.
CommonAI combines the deep AI knowledge of CAIVP with the investment expertise of Anthemis to turbocharge the UK and European AI innovation ecosystem.
It seeks to tackle the key challenges and barriers startups and enterprises face, allowing them to innovate safely and cost-effectively, reduce their reliance on Big Tech and secure the strategic investment critical to seizing the AI growth opportunity.
Through CommonAI membership, AI-enabled start-ups and enterprises will gain access to world-class IP, including models, weights, framework software, training data and hardware designs, while also gaining affordable access to critical GPU resources.
Together, these capabilities will allow UK and European businesses to develop AI-enabled propositions that can successfully compete at a global scale.
At the heart of the initiative is a non-profit engineering organisation – Common AI CIC – a UK community interest company that will co-develop foundational AI IP in partnership with its members. The platform additionally provides access to CommonAI Compute Ltd – a facilitator of cost-effective GPU resource.
Both entities will be underpinned by a shared Digital Commons repository, providing world-class resources to ecosystem members under time embargo.
According to Dr Gavin Ferris, CEO, CommonAI CIC, increasingly, AI startups and SMEs find themselves unable to assemble the computing power, technology and strategic resources necessary to successfully compete on the world stage:
“CommonAI’s innovation platform, shared IP and industry expertise will play a critical role in levelling this playing field, unlocking new growth opportunities and protecting the long-term economic future of both the UK and Europe.
‘Structuring and governing our engineering organisation as an unconflicted Community Interest Company (CIC) ensures that the interests of our members are protected while encouraging collaboration and maximising the potential of the UK AI ecosystem.’
Sir Andy Hopper, Board Chair, CommonAI CIC contends that with Big Tech’s dominance over large-scale AI models and infrastructure, startups are being denied access to this burgeoning opportunity – and even larger enterprises face the challenge of balancing their innovation agenda with the resources required to power their core business:
“By enabling ‘Virtual BigCos’ and unleashing the latent power of our entrepreneurs – and working in partnership with leading engineering talent, research institutions and universities – businesses of all scales in our economy can access the capabilities and expertise they need to thrive on the global stage.”
Following the launch of the CommonAI platform, Anthemis intends to raise a “High Assurance AI” fund to invest in UK and European startups that are applying AI in highly regulated and complex industries such as financial services, healthcare, critical infrastructure and defence.
This is the first in a planned series of CommonAI-branded funds that aim to extend the traditional VC offering by providing portfolio companies access not only to capital but also to the transformative technology support of the foundational CommonAI platform.
According to Anthemis Founder and Group CEO, Amy Nauiokas, the platform offers a space around which stakeholders can coalesce to deliver meaningful impact.
“We are building an AI ecosystem to drive forward action – one that clears the barriers to accessing the opportunities presented by a new wave of innovation and combines deep expertise, cutting-edge technology, cheaper compute and access to smart, supportive capital.
Getting this right is critical to the UK and Europe’s economic future and we’re excited about the prospect of working alongside our partners and members to build the next generation of industry champions.’
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