Glasgow-based satellite and aerial imaging specialist Bird.i (www.hibirdi.com) has secured £210,000 of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding from Scottish Enterprise.

In addition to creating 14 new jobs, this will allow Bird.i to scale up its operations, enhancing its product offering by providing intelligence on the images it takes.

The company hopes that this expansion will help it to target new sectors such as energy and engineering.

Paul Wheelhouse — the minister for business, innovation and energy — said: “Small and medium-size enterprises are the lifeblood of Scotland’s economy, and businesses like Bird-i are helping to develop the digital skills talent we have here, so we are keen to support its aspirations to expand.”

Founded in 2016 by Corentin Guillo, a French entrepreneur with a background in Earth observation satellite development, Bird.i provides both imaging and intelligence services.

The company collates the best satellite, airborne and drone images every day in order to build up an accurate view of the changing world.

By applying artificial intelligence and computer vision techniques to its imagery and data, Bird.i ‘extracts actionable insights’ better and faster than human eyes to answer a range of business needs, issues and questions.

A wide variety of companies can benefit from Bird.i’s services, in a diverse range of sectors. Current case studies in the construction and infrastructure sectors include detecting new construction sites or tracking the location and progress of building projects over a specific period of time.

Mr Guillo said: “The establishment of Bird.i in Scotland, following the completion of a first investment round, was a bold decision motivated by the access to local talents and support from the Scottish government.

“This RSA funding will help to establish further Bird.i’s presence in the Scottish ecosystem.”