William Tunstall-Pedoe founded Evi (formerly True Knowledge), a Cambridge-based Artificial Intelligence technology business that makes the Evi product. The vision for the business was a world where people could find out any information they needed just by asking naturally for it – the computer would understand them and give them back exactly what they wanted. Founded in 2006 with the core technology and a patent application, the vision has stayed exactly the same, though the business went through multiple pivots to find success. How brilliant does a product need to be to succeed in a crowded market? How do you remain focussed on your vision through multiple pivots? Clearly Evi hit a milestone when Amazon acquired the company in 2012.

William is a Cambridge University computer science graduate. Before, during and after his time in Cambridge, he has been an entrepreneur, developing AI applications and marketing them through businesses he has founded. William founded Evi in 2006 after inventing its core technology, and he subsequently lead the business through multiple financing rounds and pivots to its acquisition by Amazon in 2012. Before Evi, his products include a commercial chess-playing program, the first and only program which can solve and explain cryptic crossword clues and the AI anagram-generating software which was used by Dan Brown to create the anagrams that appeared in the Da Vinci Code book and movie.

About Enterprise Tuesday:

Enterprise Tuesday is a series of FREE evening lectures and networking sessions delivered by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) which take place from November to the end of February in Cambridge. The programme aims to introduce participants to the world of business, as well as to encourage and inspire individuals to pursue their entrepreneurial ambition. It is the most popular non-assessed programme within the University and the model has been adopted by numerous other academic institutions as well as corporations.

Enterprise Tuesday is open to all University of Cambridge staff and students, members of other universities and the local business community. The series is particularly relevant for postgraduate students considering future career paths, those exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and looking to build high quality networks with experts and practitioners.