Devon-based innovative tech business DeGould has received a £500,000 grant which will enable it to develop a revolutionary automated vehicle inspection system and create jobs.
The Exeter company has received backing from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to develop its automated inspection system and speed up the adoption of digital technology by vehicle equipment manufacturers.
DeGould has already had interest from companies such as Ford, JLR, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Toyota and the new funding will allow it to increase its highly-skilled workforce.
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Car manufacturers are also expected to achieve significant cost savings, of more than £915,000 a year through the early detection of defects (£575,000) and increased productivity (£340,000).
DeGould’s automated inspection system project will run from February 2022 to April 2023, with the Innovate UK funding covering 70% of the total project cost.
Loise Teigao, senior business analyst at DeGould, who led the funding application and is overseeing the project, said: “Innovate UK’s funding recognises the potential for our world-first automated inspection system to accelerate the adoption of digital technology by vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), making the process completely automated, non-contact and fully integrated into their production process.
“We have had a huge demand for this technology from existing customers - including Ford, JLR, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Toyota - so we’re thrilled to be underway with this project, with the support of Innovate UK.”
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.
The organisation’s Smart competition - which DeGould took part in - is competitive and has just a 6% success rate across the past five iterations, awarding £885m to the most groundbreaking and disruptive companies in the UK.
The funding follows the recent appointment of Mathew Holloway as DeGould chief executive, marking an accelerated period of growth for the company.
Mr Holloway said: “DeGould is at a hugely exciting stage and this project demonstrates our dedication to ongoing innovation for our customers in the UK and globally. I am immensely proud of our whole team and am excited to follow the development of this project.
“Due to the innovative nature of the technology we can’t publish further details today, but we are looking forward to being able to do so later in the year.”
Mr Holloway took over as chief executive from Ed Jones, who will remain with the company as chief commercial officer to support the expansion of the business and the addition of new customers.
In 2021 DeGould received £6m from investors to enable it to accelerate its growth. The company, based on the Sowton Industrial Estate, used the funding to accelerate its supply of AI-powered automated vehicle inspection systems, powered by AI.
DeGould is the global leader for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) automated vehicle inspections. During the past nine years DeGould has captured more than 100million vehicle image sets on behalf of its customers. The highest resolution images in the industry are combined with AI algorithms to deliver full vehicle condition reporting.
