Innovate UK

In the final episode of the series, the focus turns to construction and the built environment; a sector sitting on decades of valuable but messy data, from hand-drawn plans in records rooms to cutting-edge digital building models. 

Tom Goldsmith, CTO and co-founder of Hoppa, explains how AI helps construction teams make sense of unstructured data: engineering reports, drawings, and maintenance records, so the right information reaches the right people at the right time. With assets built to last 50 or even 100 years, he argues, better information management isn’t optional: it’s essential to extending the life of our infrastructure and cutting carbon. 

Max Smith, Director of Eluxevo, is on a mission to decarbonise buildings by rethinking how we experience them, using AI to connect lighting, heating and human comfort into one intelligent, energy-efficient system. He recounts a journey through nearly every part of BridgeAI: STFC innovation vouchers, Turing expert advice, BSI standards support and more. 

The episode closes with reflections on the whole series: what 12,000 conversations about AI taught the programme, and why ‘trust not technology’ may be the real foundation of AI adoption. 

Transport runs on data: telematics, asset systems, customer records, decades of engineering documents. So why has so much of it gone unused? 

Jamie Sands, Head of Solutions at family-run logistics firm Welch Group, gives a refreshingly candid view from the cab. He explains how an independent operator in a low-margin industry uses AI today: off-the-shelf tools that draft tender documents in minutes, AI built into transport management systems, and specialist route optimisation. A BridgeAI scientific advisor even helped them weigh a fourth option: building their own tools. 

Liam McGee, Chief Scientist at Kaiasm, works where it’s most important to be right: critical national infrastructure. He explains knowledge graphs, data readiness and why preparing decades of rail, road and utilities data for AI is the next big frontier, and how the BridgeAI community cured his small Somerset team’s “intellectual loneliness”. 

Finally, Nathan Parker of British Stnadards Institute demystifies standards: why ISO 27001 and the new AI management standard ISO 42001 matter to small businesses, and how BSI’s BridgeAI training sold out within 48 hours. 

No sector has debated AI more intensely than the creative industries. But step past the headlines about generative AI, and you find artists using machine learning in remarkable, unexpected ways. 

Meet Layla Hashim, ceramic artist and solo founder of Box O Fun. Her obsession with the chemistry of ceramic glazes outgrew her spreadsheets, so, with BridgeAI’s help, she built a machine learning model spanning half a million data points to predict how glazes behave in the kiln. Her journey now weaves together data science, sustainability and her Iraqi heritage, as she searches for ancient, local materials that modern AI can help rediscover. 

Rebecca Duke, Principal Data Scientist at the STFC Hartree Centre, explains how innovation vouchers gave over 100 businesses access to researchers and supercomputing  and why poor data management is the single biggest blocker she sees in small companies. 

Jimmy Jarvis of Digital Catapult describes the accelerator programmes that matched startups with industry giants like Transport for London and Merlin Entertainments  with 93% of accelerated startups still trading today and over £3 million in follow-on investment. 

Agriculture and food contribute over £150 billion to the UK economy. How can AI help a sector that’s been around for thousands of years? 

In this episode, we meet Professor Po Yang of the University of Sheffield, one of BridgeAI’s independent scientific advisors, who has personally advised 34 small businesses. He explains how AI has quietly powered “precision agriculture” for a decade; from pest-detection apps and vertical farming simulators to weeding and harvesting robots that work around the clock, and why cost and market size, not technology, are often the real barriers to adoption. 

Then it’s over to Erwann Lompech-Leneveu, co-founder and CEO of E-Nano, a London startup whose robotics and imaging systems monitor the health of football pitches, golf courses and racetracks. Erwann shares how BridgeAI’s expert advice helped E-Nano build trustworthy AI models from small datasets, proving you don’t need millions of data points, just the right ones. 
A lively tour of AI well beyond the chatbot: image analysis, robotics, simulation and decision support, all in service of grass, crops and the people who tend them. 

Why did the UK launch a £100 million programme in 2023 to help businesses adopt AI, and what happened next? 

Three voices tell the story:  

• Nicolas Guernion, Director of Partnerships at the Alan Turing Institute, explains how the national institute for data science and AI became a delivery partner from day one, providing businesses with free, independent scientific advice from over 250 expert engagements.
• Richard Cooper of Innovate UK Business Connect reflects on why the programme targeted agrifood, construction, creative and transport: sectors rich in data but slower to benefit from AI, and shares a surprising lesson about the companies in the “grey area” between AI adopters and AI developers.
• Dominica D’Arcangelo, BridgeAI Programme Manager at the Turing, lifts the lid on what it takes to work effectively as five major organisations delivering one.  

An essential introduction to how BridgeAI worked, what it achieved, and where it might go next. 

In the final episode of the Battery Caffè Podcast Series 2, we explore how batteries are transforming the off-highway sector from agriculture and mining to construction. Our expert guests discuss the unique demands of these applications, the challenges of durability and thermal management, and the innovations and investment needed to drive solutions forward.
We hope you enjoy the series! Please feel free to share it with your network.

Guests

Maria Morera | Operations Director and Co-founder | Global Nano Network
Matrishvan Raval | Head of Product | Turntide Technologies

Hosted by

Neelam Mughal | Knowledge Transfer Manager ‑ Advanced Materials | Innovate UK Business Connect
Debra Jones | Knowledge Transfer Manager - Chemistry | Innovate UK Business Connect

Click here to download the episode transcript.

Episode 5: Batteries in AI
In Episode 5 of the Battery Caffè Podcast Series 2, we delve into the use of battery technology in the rail sector, exploring its potential to decarbonise rail transport, improve efficiency, and support the transition to electrified mobility. Our expert guests discuss current applications, technological challenges, policy drivers, and the at-scale trials shaping the future of battery-powered rail.

We hope you enjoy the series! Please feel free to share it with your network
Guests
Matthew Prosser | Asset Management Director | Angel Trains Limited
Robert Hay | Technical Advisor | Railway Industry Association
Hosted by
Nikoleta Piperidou | Knowledge Transfer Manager ‑ Energy & Infrastructure | Innovate UK Business Connect
Debra Jones | Knowledge Transfer Manager - Chemistry | Innovate UK Business Connect

Listen to previous episodes.

Click here to download the transcript.

Buying a home can be stressful—especially when it comes to legal enquiries. Hear how AI and machine learning are helping conveyancers manage chaos and speed up transactions. Wondering how AI supports legal pros? This episode is a must-listen!  

Participants of this podcast: 

- Astrid Ayel, AI for Services Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect  

- Gemma Fulbrook-Felstead, Director of Operations, Collaborative Conveyancing  

- Jonny Palmer, Data Science Lead, Collaborative Conveyancing  

- Robert Firth, Senior AI Research Scientist, STFC Hartree Centre  

Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have invested £26.5 million in the Next Generation Professional and Financial Services programme to help professional service sectors (accounting and law) and the financial service sectors (insurance, lending, advisory and payment services) to develop and use digital technologies.  

For monthly news, funding and event updates in your sector, subscribe to the free Innovate UK AI for Services Network newsletter. 

Join the AI for Services community on LinkedIn. 

Download the transcript

How can AI help pensions match personal values? Discover how conversational AI and sustainability data are helping savers align their investments with what matters most. Interested in values-driven investing? Tune in! 

In this episode, we hear from these participants: 

- Andrew Tucker, Co-Founder and CEO, Mettle Capital   

- Astrid Ayel, AI for Services Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect   

- Benjamin Winter, Lead Machine Learning Engineer, Wyser   

- Mark Pearce, Founder and CEO, Wyser    

Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have invested £26.5 million in the Next Generation Professional and Financial Services programme to help professional service sectors (accounting and law) and the financial service sectors (insurance, lending, advisory and payment services) to develop and use digital technologies.  

For monthly news, funding and event updates in your sector, subscribe to the free Innovate UK AI for Services Network newsletter. 

Join the AI for Services community on LinkedIn. 

Download the transcript

Crypto taxation can be complex and confusing. Dan Howitt of Recap explains how his startup is making crypto tax calculations secure and manageable for accountants and investors alike. If you want to understand crypto tax better, this episode is for you. 

Participants of this podcast: 

- Astrid Ayel, AI for Services Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect  

- Daniel Howitt, CEO and Co-Founder of Recap 

Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have invested £26.5 million in the Next Generation Professional and Financial Services programme to help professional service sectors (accounting and law) and the financial service sectors (insurance, lending, advisory and payment services) to develop and use digital technologies.  

For monthly news, funding and event updates in your sector, subscribe to the free Innovate UK AI for Services Network newsletter. 

Join the AI for Services community on LinkedIn. 

Download the transcript