Glasgow gig tech start-up to raise £1m as high-profile chairman named

A Glasgow-based tech start-up is targeting a £1 million investment round after appointing a high-profile chairman.

John Brodie founded Aquila Insight in 2012, building the data analytics specialist ahead of its acquisition by US marketing agency Merkle in 2017. He joins Gigged.AI as its chairman ahead of its fundraising push.

The firm recently launched a platform to help companies hire top UK digital talent faster as remote working trends continue.

The artificial intelligence-driven technology is said to transform how companies source and on-board tech talent in the gig economy, with founders Rich Wilson and Craig Short aiming to take on larger players in a fast-growing market.

Rich Wilson, Craig Short, Angela Brown and John Brodie of Gigged.AI. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Brodie said: “The future of work and the gig economy are hot topics right now and Gigged.AI is an innovative product with huge growth potential. The team has achieved a lot in a short space of time, and I’m excited to help support Rich, Craig and the team through their next phase of growth.”

Wilson, formerly a senior executive with Gartner and a current board member with the The Data Lab, said: “After a decade spent in leadership roles in HR and staffing, I knew technology could vastly improve the on-boarding of on-demand talent.

“The whole dynamic has shifted even further since the pandemic, and we’ve been able to take our vision through to market entry because of the hard work of our chief technology officer Craig Short and his team.

“With as much as 90 per cent of work being done remotely, we’re already helping clients find the best digital talent much faster than ever before.”

The fledgling firm received funding in 2020 from Innovate UK, going on to receive the top rating from the innovation agency against more than 1,500 other completed projects.

In January, Angela Brown, formerly finance director at Symphonic Software, acquired by Ping in November 2020, was appointed as Gigged.AI’s chief financial officer.

Wilson added: “Overall, our vision is to accelerate the future of work to ensure clients and on-demand talent have a simple and effective way to connect and work together in a post-Covid 19 economy that has changed monumentally over the last fifteen months.”

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