Bubo.AI II

Partner:Mercia

Region:Tees Valley

Location:Middlesbrough

Programme:Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

A Middlesbrough company with a unique software pricing tool secured  further £250,000 funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, as it seeks to establish itself as a global leader in its field.

Bubo.AI completed a £500,000 funding round led by NPIF last year to help bring the software to market. It has since won a string of awards and been listed as one of the most noteworthy pricing software providers worldwide by technology analysts Gartner. The software, which was adopted by Tarmac at an early stage, has also attracted a number of new multinational clients including a leading European car parts distributor and a major medical equipment company and is being trialled by other large corporates worldwide.

Bubo.ai’s platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track customer behaviour and recommend the optimum price based on what the customer is willing to pay and what the vendor is willing to accept. It is designed for any business with complex pricing models, such as distributors and merchants, and has been shown to yield on average a 30 per cent uplift in net profits.

Bubo.ai was founded in 2019 by Alan Timothy and Marcin Lisowski, who had worked together as consultants to create a pricing system for a client, and AI expert Professor Huseyin Seker from Birmingham University. It currently employs nine people in Middlesbrough and is planning to create 10 new jobs in the year ahead.

Alan Timothy, the company’s CEO who also founded software firm i-snapshot, says: “Bubo.AI is the only AI-driven pricing software that takes the perceived value to customers into account. We have been delighted by the awards and other recognition we have received so far. This funding will allow us to maintain our position at the leading edge of AI and establish the software as the world leader in its field.”

Simon Crabtree, Investment Manager at Mercia added: “Bubo.AI could help companies to revolutionise their approach to pricing and transform their profitability. Alan and the team are pioneering new levels of sophistication in pricing software. We are pleased to continue to support them as they build their reputation and their global client base.”

Grant Peggie at British Business Bank said: “Bubo.AI is an growing digital tech business that has gone from strength-to-strength, utilising NPIF investment to develop its software and secure new clients.. Investments such as this demonstrate the importance of access to finance for Northern businesses, helping them to grow, innovate and create new opportunities in the region.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 183363).  EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 443560).

Editors Notes