Fast-growing AI specialist to pay eye-watering six-figure salaries as it recruits 20 Edinburgh staff

“We see this investment in Scotland as a great opportunity to accelerate our growth, and become an active part of one of the most thriving data and AI centres in Europe.”

A tech start-up that says it is working to help ensure that a three-day working week on full wages “becomes the default for society” has announced plans to boost the ranks of its Edinburgh office with artificial intelligence (AI) experts on salaries of up to £135,000 each.

Tomoro plans to add the 20 highly skilled, highly paid workers over the next 12 months, as part of plans to invest £4 million over the next three years. The business says it builds custom AI agents for large enterprises that help them scale their operations, reduce cost, and capture competitive advantage.

It works with organisations across financial services, energy, media, telecoms, and other industries, and recently claimed that AI will transform productivity to such an extent that a three-day working week, with no loss of employee income, will be possible within five years.

Tomoro, which recently announced its partnership with AI computing giant Nvidia, and also works in alliance with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, says the new roles will cover all levels from graduates to experienced AI engineers, including solution architects and consultants. Those hired will work to design, build, and deploy AI applications, working with large language models and organisational datasets and knowledge. Furthermore, teams will be hybrid, based across Scotland, and employees will also be working on-site with clients.

Co-founder Ed Broussard says he has a history of bringing AI jobs to Scotland, having made a similar investment with Mudano, the last business he co-founded. In 2018 he established an AI research and development department in Edinburgh for Mudano that was acquired by professional services group Accenture in 2020.

Tomoro MD Broussard said: “Tomoro is focused on helping our clients reinvent their businesses through deeply embedded AI. We’re already working on some of the most ambitious AI projects in the world from our London office, and believe the talent, ecosystem and ambition to push the boundaries in Scotland is just as strong. We see this investment in Scotland as a great opportunity to accelerate our growth, and become an active part of one of the most thriving data and AI centres in Europe.”

Les Bayne, chairman at The Datalab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for data and AI, welcomed the news: “To have one of Europe’s most exciting AI start-ups make such a significant investment in Scotland is an exciting moment for the Scottish data and AI community, and demonstrates the world-leading role Scotland can play in the AI revolution.”

MD Ed Broussard says: 'We’re already working on some of the most ambitious AI projects in the world from our London office, and believe the talent, ecosystem and ambition to push the boundaries in Scotland is just as strong.' Picture: contributed.

Bayne, when joint MD for Accenture Scotland, commented on the company’s acquisition of Mudano when it was announced. He said: “Companies like Mudano here in Edinburgh deliver a wealth of talent in data analytics, AI, and machine learning to help financial services firms. Connecting this with Accenture’s own skills and capabilities in this area is an opportunity to showcase that talent internationally and fuel faster business value across the sector.”

A separate recent study found that nearly eight in ten tech leaders believe the sector will “grow rapidly” in Scotland over the coming five years, adding that there are 8,680 Scottish-registered tech businesses, with start-ups in the sector collectively worth £16.6 billion.