Edinburgh machine learning specialist to add 100 jobs thanks to investment co-venture

An Edinburgh-based machine learning specialist is to scale up and add 100 people to its payroll after securing multi-million-pound investment.

Edinburgh-headquartered Brainnwave has agreed a Series A investment worth Can$10.2 million (£6m) with Hatch, one of the world’s most prominent engineering, project management and professional services firms.

The two outfits have formed a co-venture focusing on developing applications and products combining Brainnwave’s machine learning and artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform with Hatch’s extensive knowledge of the metals and mining, energy and infrastructure sectors.

It will also provide the Scots group with access to clients on a global scale. The funding will unlock a plan to grow Brainnwave’s headcount by 100 people in “highly skilled roles”, while in parallel upscaling the firm’s Edinburgh and London locations.

Steve Coates, chief executive and co-founder of Edinburgh-headquartered Brainnwave. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Brainnwave’s tech – which is already used by the likes of William Grant & Sons, Aggreko and Metropolitan Thames Valley – is said to combine data exploration and visualisation to “rapidly improve decision-making capabilities”.

Steve Coates, chief executive and co-founder of Brainnwave, said: “This partnership made sense because both organisations are like-minded in their entrepreneurial approach, willingness to do things differently and challenge the status quo.”

Alim Somani, managing director of Hatch’s digital practice, added: “Our partnership with Brainnwave helps us develop practical, innovative solutions for our clients’ challenges and accelerates our ability to deliver them quickly so that our clients can begin to reap the benefits.”

The co-venture is to initially target two of what it sees as the world’s most pressing issues - climate change and urbanisation.

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