Microsoft helps improve the world with AI for Good cohort

Microsoft helps improve the world with AI for Good cohort
One member called Recycleye is transforming recycling with computer vision

Elly Yates-Roberts |


Microsoft is helping to tackle societal challenges and make the world a better place, with the companies in in its latest AI for Good cohort.

12 start-ups from across Britain will receive access to Microsoft technology, resources and expertise to help them develop and launch their products and solutions. One of these companies is Recycleye, which is working to revolutionise recycling by using cameras to identify materials so that they can automatically be recycled.

“Our motto is that waste doesn’t exist, it’s just materials in the wrong place,” said Victor Dewulf, founder of Recycleye. “The reason a lot of materials aren’t recycled is because the cost of sorting it at plants is too expensive, and that’s because the waste industry hasn’t really changed in the past 50 years. To sort different types of recyclable material, the industry is using a lot of large and incredibly expensive sensors, which can miss some items. Using computer vision means we can use just one sensor for the whole plant that’s much more cost effective.

The other companies in the cohort are:

Akari – helps companies use technology to support employees as individuals

Baobab – provides legal tools that track cases, manage teams and ensure privacy and security

BeneTalk – a digital coach and tracker for fluency therapy

Chatterbox – online language learning for professionals and organisations

Good Boost – transforms public swimming pools into therapy spaces for the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions

EcoSync – cloud-based platform helping commercial buildings to stop heating empty rooms

Hello Lamp Post – enables text conversation with street objects to give local citizens a say in town management

miiCARE – specialises in the application of AI in the area of geriatrics

MyCognition – tracks, treats and prevents poor mental health through a cognitive assessment and training platform

OrxaGrid – provides accurate and secure analytics that provide efficiency improvements for energy networks

Signly – internet browser extension that offers sign language for web pages

The cohort members will also benefit from a business space at the Microsoft for Startups office in Shoreditch, London.

“These 12 companies are some of the brightest and most cutting-edge businesses in Britain, and I am delighted to welcome to them to our cohort,” said Amali de Alwis, managing director of Startups UK at Microsoft. “Microsoft is keen to help them make an even bigger positive impact on the world around them, and we’re looking forward to supporting them through this exciting stage of their journey.”

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