AirTree Ventures has led a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round for Sydney-based artificial intelligence (AI) development start-up TrueState.
Founded by ex-McKinsey consultant Will Ashford, TrueState is developing an integrated library of multi-purpose AI components that can be used to quickly build bespoke AI systems that would take consultants six to twelve months to create from scratch.
AirTree partner James Cameron said: “So far some of the biggest winners in the AI hype circle have been overpaid consultants. But the excitement from the AI hype train is quickly being replaced by frustration as corporations struggle to deploy new AI technologies safely and reliably – even with an army of these consultants.”
Ashford and his team are working on a solution to this problem, according to Cameron.
Prior to starting TrueState, Ashford worked in McKinsey & Company’s AI division, Quantum Black, in private equity portfolio operations and as a freelance consultant helping companies identify opportunities for the use AI and then developing systems.
“Across all the clients I supported, I saw the same problem time and time again,” he said. “Organisations, sometimes with strong reputations for technical prowess, were stumped by the process of building appropriate, stable solutions to capture value, caught off-guard by the technical complexity of building in this space.”
Other investors in the round are venture firms Side Stage, Galileo and Imprint Capital Partners and individual angel investors. Imprint Capital Partners is a cross-border investment firm set up by Curt Shi, one of the founding partners of Follow [the] Seed.
Image: TrueState founder Will Ashford.