That idea is a part of the motivation behind a brand new tech problem launched by the Mayor of London, the winners of which had been introduced at the moment (Monday, July 24).
Seven firms had been awarded as much as £50,000 to develop their initiatives in Sadiq Khan’s ‘Poverty-Prevention Problem’, together with a number of startups individually utilizing AI to assist households battling meals insecurity, renters, and refugees, respectively.
The winners embody Mealia, a free price range planner that harnesses AI to suggest reasonably priced objects on your procuring listing. When you enter the meals you wish to make, the service finds the most cost effective components from supermarkets.
At the moment, Mealia solely works with Asda, based on the startup’s web site, however is promising so as to add assist for Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, and Sainsbury’s quickly. The corporate plans to make use of the prize cash to develop throughout London, founder Gabriel Corbet mentioned.
Whereas one other AI-powered service, dubbed Mendee, offers refugees with digital- and literacy- assist instruments in an effort to assist overwhelmed non-profits. The startup boasts a chatbot constructed utilizing OpenAI’s ChatGPT that may translate web sites in additional than 50 languages.
Fellow winner Mortar Works additionally makes use of AI to flag and establish late rental funds. Based by East London property supervisor George Unsworth, the startup is geared toward supporting renters with their arrears, and defending them from in search of out high-cost debt to make funds.
Different winners of the Mayor’s problem embody MatchingMind, a psychological well being startup that pairs individuals with therapists; a charity referred to as CAD-HR that helps migrants with their authorized and enterprise wants; Time to Spare, a data-management platform for voluntary and neighborhood organisations; and debt administration service SuperFi.
“The associated fee-of-living disaster continues to hit Londoners exhausting and these modern initiatives will assist hundreds who’re struggling to make ends meet within the wake of hovering power prices and meals costs,” Sadiq Khan mentioned.
“Native authorities and neighborhood teams are working tirelessly to assist residents through the cost-of-living disaster. However as a metropolis we should proceed to innovate, and AI and new digital companies have an actual position to play in helping that.”
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