Business backstory

Cardiff-based AMPLYFI have built the World's first Insights Automation Platform (IAP) – leveraging machine learning and data science to analyse unstructured deep-web data sources. The platform, DeepInsight, lets businesses harvest vital information hidden in the deepest levels of the web, helping them to make better decisions. They have also developed an enterprise-grade search engine, DeepResearch, which searches hundreds of web, paid and internal sources in one click, summarising results using Machine Learning.

While working for BP, Chris Ganje and his future business partner Ian Jones had a eureka moment. Mining the internet for business intelligence is nothing new. But could organisations improve their decision-making even further – and spot potential disruptions on the horizon – if they could analyse online data that normally remains hidden?

The duo set up AMPLYFI in 2015, having started working on what would become their flagship product DataVoyant the previous year. AMPLYFI’s software harvests information from both the surface web – the pages that are returned by search engines such as Google – and the deep web, the parts that consumer search engines choose not to present.

Their latest product, DeepInsight, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to read hundreds of millions of documents and extract key entities, topics and metadata to give the user an unrivalled, searchable view of the world, allowing them to identify and react to trends and disruption.

Ganje says: “Our tools allow a user to enter a simple query to discover and analyse millions of open source, freely available documents that exist on the surface and deep web. Using intelligent algorithms, the platform develops a picture of a topic that allows you to discover what is happening, where it’s happening, who is driving activity and whether that activity is accelerating or decelerating. The original documents are attached to this analysis, providing full auditability of the results.”

AMPLYFI’s platforms have found favour with private companies and government departments alike. Clients include NatWest Group, Bayer, the United States Air Force, BNP Paribas, Airbus, Boeing and BP. Users include financial-services businesses who are seeking to understand their exposure to bad debt, or to develop insights on new markets so they can assess whether or not to back a business.

In 2017, AMPLYFI partnered with Harvard University to deliver ground-breaking research into bioterror capabilities in North Korea. Ganje says: “DataVoyant located, harvested and analysed over 840,000 documents relevant to biological weapons research. Using the resulting analysis, we were able to uncover the connections between certain assets known to be owned by North Korea and very particular terms associated with bioweapons capability, either directly or indirectly. DataVoyant identified a significant increase in the strength of these connections in recent years”. More recently, they have collaborated with the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University to deliver a research project which provides fresh insight into AI ecosystems, identifying Chinese AI companies overlooked in leading commercial datasets. The new research, published in February 2021, could provide policymakers with increased insights into global activities in AI and beyond. Ganje highlights the power of the platform to extract value from the vast untapped resources of the deep web and unstructured data: “Organisations that are making decisions without considering the value of unstructured and deep-web data are ‘flying blind’ and may not be aware of the huge steps forward in the abilities of machines to read, analyse and support strategic decision making.”

Why Wales?

Ganje and his co-founders took the decision to base their business in Cardiff after assessing options all over the globe. Ganje says: “We knew that we were on to something really big, and that we needed to base ourselves where we would have access to top talent and could thrive as a start-up. We conducted an assessment of different regions and cities around the world. Cardiff came out on top, matched only by Boston.

“Cardiff turned out to be the right decision, because we have more access to talent here than we would have anywhere else in the world. People come from other countries and enjoy the quality of life in South Wales, including the countryside and the city’s vibrant cultural life.”

He adds “Our vision is to be the global leader in business intelligence and research, and we are well on our way to achieving this.”

Learn more about AMPLYFI on the AMPLYFI website.

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