Cardiff-based AI startup Nightingale HQ has become the first UK startup to join EIT Manufacturing, the largest European consortium of manufacturers that includes big names like Whirlpool, Siemens, Philips, P&G, and many prominent research and academic institutes. It is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
The tech startup led by Data Scientist Steph Locke and Commercial Director Ruth Kearney will work with a dedicated EIT Business Creation Manager for the next six months to access markets and financial supports to accelerate their efforts in addressing critical challenges across manufacturing.
Steph chats to Business News Wales here :
‘This is important for businesses across the UK as it shows that business creation and collaborations can continue to be strengthened even post-Brexit. There are ways and means and we are proof of this, and we want other UK businesses to have this opportunity' added Steph Locke, CEO of Nightingale HQ.
Joining EIT gives greater visibility to the GoSmarter platform that they are currently developing. Manufacturers can augment their workers with a range of no-code tools that they can easily deploy to automate repetitive processes around them. It’s fast and affordable.
Dr. Wolfgang Kniejski, Senior Business Creation Manager at EIT Manufacturing added that
“We are proud of having Nightingale HQ in our startup portfolio. Their high-tech GoSmarter platform has the potential to offer significant value to Europe’s manufacturing industries. I am truly looking forward to a successful cooperation.
The founders also have several trips planned to Germany where they will get the opportunity to meet manufacturers who want to work with startups. One of Nightingale HQs first customers was based in Germany, and they have collaborators there so joining EIT Manufacturing was a natural next step. The company will receive further financial support in the form of investment readiness preparation and investor introductions.”
‘Joining EIT Manufacturing offers us a significant opportunity to explore German and Austria markets, who are major industrial players. We get to meet manufacturers and further validate and test our GoSmarter tools – the opportunity to co-develop is also important to us. We look forward to what’s lies ahead.’ added Ruth Kearney, Commercial Director at Nightingale HQ.
EIT Manufacturing run a series of industry match-making events and challenges whereby major manufacturers look to partner with innovative solution providers. Their current BoostUp competition has three challenges from Whirlpool EMEA, Voestalpine (global steel manufacturers,) and EROSKI (global retailers) and are open to any businesses.
There are tons of opportunities, and this Wales-based startup is out there creating opportunities and paving the way for other UK businesses to do the same.
