Ex-Unilever exec lands £7m for AI research platform Bolt Insight

A former Unilever executive whose consumer insight platform is used by nearly a dozen of the world's largest packaged goods companies has raised millions of pounds to fund its expansion.

Sky News understands that Bolt Insight, which counts Unilever, Reckitt and Danone among its clients, will this week announce a £7m funding round led by Pembroke VCT. Sources said that Pembroke VCT, which has previously backed businesses including Me + Em, the women's fashion brand, had injected half of the capital.

Investors including 212, Active Partners, Velocity, and TIBAS Ventures also participated in the round. Bolt Insight's platform combines AI-enabled workflows with human researchers to deliver qualitative studies in a fraction of the usual time, enabling them to connect live with consumers.

The company is led by co-founder and chief executive Hakan Yurdakul, who spent 14 years at Unilever in brand strategy and transformation roles, and fellow co-founder Kerem Turgay, its chief technology officer. To date, Bolt Insight has interviewed more than 5 million consumers and worked with more than 150 brands.

The new funding will be used to expand BoltChatAI globally with the aim of strengthening its position in a global insights market valued at approximately $153bn. "When we launched Bolt Insight in 2019, our mission was to bring real consumer voices into the heart of business decision-making," Mr Yurdakul said.

"Since then, we've shown AI can supercharge the speed and quality of research for the world's leading brands." Andrew Wolfson, chief executive of Pembroke Investment Managers, said: "Bolt Insight is a brilliant example of how AI can lead change in an established industry by putting real consumer voices at the heart of decision-making.".