Digital accelerator launches offering 50 funded AI feasibility reports to SMEs

Tech consultancy B13.AI has partnered with Tech WM to launch the West Midlands Digital Accelerator where SMEs in the region are offered 50 funded AI feasibility reports.

A feasibility report is a practical starting point for a business that suspects technology could help them, but is not sure where to begin, what it would cost, or whether it would deliver a return.

B13.AI will work with businesses to find the appropriate tools for transformance and will advise what a realistic roadmap could look like.

The initiative follows the tech firm’s vision of democratising access to AI and software development, making it affordable, accessible, and commercially viable for SMEs by eliminating large capital expenditures.

According to B13.AI, the traditional model of software development has three well-known flaws for smaller businesses - high upfront cost, long delivery timelines, and a tendency to build more than is actually needed.

A recent survey conducted by B13.AI in partnership with Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce revealed 40 per cent of businesses are blocked from AI or digitalisation adoption due to budget constraints while 43 per cent struggle with project delays or a lack of internal expertise.

B13's approach is built around removing those barriers through a trademarked Venture Mapping process.

The firm works with businesses to fully map their operations, define clear outcomes, and deliver software within a fixed scope and price.

Last year, they started building Cycl, an AI-enabled patent-pending tool with a goal of making software development even more accessible on a simple monthly subscription, with no large capital required.

B13 also encourages businesses to ask the following questions before approaching a tech partner:

• Where in our business do we lose the most time to manual processes?
• What decisions would we make differently if we had better data?
• Is our customer-facing speed - quotes, responses, fulfilment - as efficient and professional as it could be?
• Are we paying for software that does 80 per cent of what we need, but missing the 20 per cent that would make a real difference?

Gabrielle Crofts (pictured), CEO of B13, said: “We are excited to be partnering with TechWM to bring 50 funded AI feasibility reports to the region.

“There is clearly a strong appetite to embrace AI within the region, and we're looking forward to making it more accessible to West Midlands SMEs specifically." 

Visit the West Midlands Digital Accelerator website to find out more or to apply for a funded feasibility report or email hi@b13.ai