Like it or not, there’s no getting away from AI. Its potential reach is mind-boggling, so it’s hardly surprising that many organisations are struggling to pin down exactly what it can do for them.
Promising to cut to the chase is Dublin-based start-up BrAInStormX, whose founders, Patrick Brennan and Brian Glancy, say it bypasses the hype to provide AI solutions that deliver tangible results.
Brennan and Glancy met while working for Kingspan. Brennan was the CTO, and Glancy (an engineer by background who holds personal patents in logistics, construction, and manufacturing) was digital strategy director and head of innovation.
The road to the formation of BrAInStormX began in 2023 when software engineer Brennan started using AI to build a health and wellness start-up.
In the course of his research, he spotted an opportunity to provide an AI service to the general market that focused more on the “how” and less on the “why” of AI to help organisations answer two key questions: where do we start with AI, and how do we implement it safely? Convinced that the opportunity had legs, the founders pivoted to develop what has since become BrAInStormX.
“We all know why we should use AI, so focusing on the how is now the most important aspect. However, too many teams are stuck in AI limbo and unsure where to start. They’ve heard the buzzwords, but they don’t know who to trust,” Brennan says.
“Furthermore, while large enterprises have the resources to leverage AI for strategic advantage, smaller organisations are being left behind. Our mission is clear – build intuitive, powerful AI tools that any business can use to develop winning strategies that drive growth, innovation, and competitive advantage in an increasingly complex global marketplace.”
“What makes us different is that we work directly with organisations to transform their approach to AI by helping them understand its value in terms of what it can do specifically for them,” Brennan adds. “We identify practical applications and help with their implementation without getting buried in jargon and technical complexity.”
`Spec’
Clients give BrAInStormX a ‘spec’, as it were, for how they would like to use AI in their operation – to drive efficiency or improve processes, for example – and the company makes recommendations on the best way to proceed.
“We can transform what is currently weeks of consultant work into an instant AI strategy, and unlike many AI start-ups chasing quick wins, we bake security and regulatory compliance into every solution,” Brennan says. “We are boutique for a reason and are building our own AI solutions for our service offering because you really have to master the technology before you can implement or advise on it.”
Brennan adds that from talking to companies, he has found that many are worried about how the tools they’re using are being used to train AI models. He’s also come across companies that can’t account for how private information about them has turned up in the public domain. And the fallout is not over yet.
Brennan predicts that the next wave of AI will make it increasingly important for organisations to lock down how they’re using AI to minimise risk, keep their brands safe, secure their data, and keep day-to-day operations on the right side of governance and regulation.
“Our focus is on ensuring that organisations implement AI,” Brennan says. “This means risk analysis aligned with the EU AI Act and compliance by design. Any new technology exposes an organisation to risk, but unlike other technologies, AI risk is still largely misunderstood. This is why human-centric solutions and oversight are key.
“We prioritise quality, security, and brand protection in an uncertain new world. AI is not without its liabilities, but it also has amazing potential. Data within organisations that has been siloed will be a source of future value if AI can be used safely and the data capitalised on without exposing it unnecessarily to open models.”
Brennan says that rapid advances in AI have radically changed the timeline on establishing a new business such as BrAInStormX. “Even four or five years ago, to do what we’ve done would probably have taken 20 people a year to build. We did it in three months with one person.”
Funds
Investment in the company to date is running at around €100,000 between personal funds, a feasibility grant from Fingal Local Enterprise Office, and stipend support from Enterprise Ireland as part of the New Frontiers programme.
The company has been revenue-generating since late last year, with clients in Ireland, the UK, the US, and Europe, and there are plans to launch an initial seed round of €500,000 early next year.
Interestingly, the founders have eschewed the SaaS revenue model on the grounds of public fatigue with recurrent fees. Instead, they’ve opted for a one-off charge to provide clients with a report on what they need in terms of AI and how to implement it.
The BrAInStormX platform will be fully developed by the end of this year and, once all the elements are up and running, the company will begin hiring.
However, rather than bringing a raft of techies on board, Brennan says they will be looking for business development specialists who have the knack for dealing with people.
In his view, the more tech takes over in business, the more important the ability to build personal relationships with clients will become.
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