A NEW Herefordshire business hosted its launch night yesterday (October 23.)

Inversity, a Hereford-founded technology education company, celebrated its first few weeks of operation with an event at Leaven Pizza in Broad Street, Hereford.

The business aims to help 16 to 21-year-olds seeking a faster and more affordable route into the tech industry than university as well as people looking to transition into tech.

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Local businesspeople, members of the tech industry and the entrants of Inversity’s first AI-powered challenge were all in attendance.

To win the £1000 cash prize challenge, participants had to quiz an AI chatbot based on interviews with Leaven Pizza owners Ed and Dorian Kirk, and then build a prototype software or AI solution to one of the business problems they identified.

Runner-up Gilbert Baker, a student at Hereford Sixth Form College, created a multi-purpose digital dashboard displaying statistics such as revenue and social media traction to tackle the problem of businesses having to use an unnecessary number of different applications and software.

Winner Chris Stylianou learned from the chatbot that the restaurant needed to find a way to manage customer expectations regarding the appearance of food, so he designed a digital menu that incorporated real images of the dishes that had been posted to Instagram. This gives restaurant-goers an accurate look at the food and encourages them to advertise the restaurant by posting their meals.

Hereford Times: Chris Stylianou demonstrated his software for attendees.Chris Stylianou demonstrated his software for attendees. (Image: Joshua Dyer)

After being presented with his prize, Mr Stylianou said: “I’m really, really chuffed.

“I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time this last year trying to build up my technical skillset.”

“I’m taking my wife away on a long weekend to Denmark with the prize money so she’s really happy as well.”

Inversity co-founder Mark Mitchell said: “There’s a lot of talent in Hereford.

“Inversity is not just about training the learners, learning the tech skills that make them employable, it’s also about trying to connect them to businesses.

“Having those partnerships is so important and as we look to partner with more businesses, being able to physically come somewhere like Leaven, and physically chat to the owners and understand their problems is so valuable.”