EIE bigger and better in its 10th year
The School of Informatics is a proud sponsor of the 10th edition of EIE (Engage Invest Exploit) organised by the Informatics Ventures.
From modest beginnings of a small event run in the Appleton Tower it grew to be the biggest tech investor conference of its type outside of London. It will be held 19th April, at McEwan Hall.
Attended by 800+ delegates – a mix of international investors, innovative young businesses and a distinguished business audience, EIE is unrivalled in its ability to bring the data, technology and investment communities together.
Pitch for funding
Informatics Ventures has picked 60 early stage companies for EIE18. Over the course of the day, the 60 high growth innovative tech companies will pitch for seed to Series A funding and are drawn from sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), Data Science, Internet of Things, Energy, Climate & Cleantech, Digital Health & Medtech, Fintech and Cybersecurity.
EIE has been a springboard to over £550 million in funding. FanDuel, Mallzee, Celtic Renewables, Two Big Ears, ZoneFox, pureLiFi and MindMate are a few of the companies to come through the EIE programme in recent years.
Dr Steve Ewing, Director of Operations at Informatics Ventures, said: “EIE continues to be about making connections that can translate to investment and other business opportunities for our most exciting young technology companies. Scotland has been exporting innovative technologies across the world for centuries and in 2018 we have some amazing talent coming through. While we’re starting to see the real emergence of sectors like AI and Healthtech, it’s also encouraging to see the level of female founders in the EIE18 cohort.”
This year’s cohort includes Triscribe, who are developing ePrescribing analytics for NHS hospitals, Wallet.Services, a secure Blockchain technology platform positioned for the next generation of real-world applications, Virtual Revolution Technologies, who create bespoke virtual reality environments for unlimited users to collaborate and share immersive experiences, and Good Loop, an ethical video advertising platform.
Big names on the speakers’ list
FanDuel cofounders Nigel and Lesley Eccles and Rob Jones have been lined up as keynote speakers for the EIE18. FanDuel is one of the EIE success stories having first appeared at Scotland’s tech investor showcase in 2010. The FanDuel cofounders will be joined as keynote speakers at EIE18 by Dame Stephanie Shirley, one of the UK’s most renowned tech entrepreneurs, and Eileen Burbridge, MBE, a partner at London venture capitalist Passion Capital.
Lesley Eccles said: “EIE was an important part of our early journey from startup to global tech business and we are big supporters of the role the Informatics Ventures team play in supporting our most promising technology entrepreneurs and startups. Experience has shown us that while it is possible to build really successful tech businesses from a base in Scotland, you also need to be able to grow the investor base outside of Scotland and events like EIE can help to put Scottish startups on the radar of investors in London, Europe, North America and Asia.”
Supporters and sponsors
EIE18 is supported by Scottish Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh and sponsors are Cazenove Capital, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, Johnston Carmichael, LINC Scotland, Marks and Clerk, MBM Commercial, Scottish Equity Partners, Royal Bank of Scotland, TalentSpark (powered by Eden Scott) and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics. Partner organisations for EIE 2018 are The DataLab, Sevenfive Creative Design and VisitScotland.
In partnership with the Freer Consultancy, Informatics Ventures is launching the 2018 Scottish Startup Survey in February and its results will be available in advance of EIE18.
This year, Informatics Ventures will become an integral component of the Bayes Centre for Data Science and Technology, the new centre for data-driven innovation at the University of Edinburgh.