Investment for Manchester Media Insights Firm North AI

Manchester-based startup North AI has secured £280,000 grant funding from the UK's Innovation Agency, and a further £300,000 in a round led by SFC Capital. The firm provides an AI-powered predictive insights platform for the media and entertainment industry.

The firm is led by CEO Rishi Kapoor, Lucas Cazelli and Oleh Kurtianyk, and uses AI to predict the value of premium video content - analysing the commercial risk, potential gains and marketability of old and new titles. Its technology combines a proprietary model with primary data from real audiences to forecast revenue and assess potential impact. Clients are in film and TV and include streamers, studios, UGC creators, producers and agencies across pre-production, distribution and acquisition.

Kapoor is a former employee of Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. He comments: 'In my last company, we spoke with literally thousands of producers, financiers, distributors and brands. All of them faced the same issue, knowing what they should be creating, selling or buying, as well as how it should be positioned, what were the target markets and what audiences truly wanted. That is what North AI is here to solve'.

Funds are earmarked for product development. The round was supported by private angel investors from the media industry. The company is currently onboarding partners, such as streaming services and independent production companies, who will have early access to the predictive insights model. It plans to raise a larger investment round later this year, and to expand into the advertising space.

The firm is online at www.north-ai.com .