Here, Maoz Matarasso, partner at Launch It Capital, draws on the successful experience from working with academic image integrity software provider Proofig AI when investing in early-stage startups in AI and academia, offering insight in his decision to invest.

The primary focus for pre-seed investors is the team. We look at how mature they are, how balanced they are, their ability to work together and, on a personal level, whether we enjoy talking to one another. When investing in startups led by researchers and academics, the main concern is the pace of the venture. We feel it may progress too slowly and other work in their field may seem more appealing, or in some cases individuals may be invited to another country and leave.

In addition, there will be question marks over whether they have the managerial experience required. While researchers have high-quality academic attributes, they need to be successful in convincing, motivating and managing a team to develop and market the idea central to their business. When working with academic ventures, we pay close attention to the founder’s commitment to the project and their ability to think with a business-oriented mindset; while on the technological side we look closely at IP ownership.

When meeting Dr Dror Kolodkin-Gal, Founder of Proofig AI, we saw a professional and knowledgeable person who identified a painful problem in academic publishing. At the beginning, Dror had a limited budget, meaning he had to be efficient and creative to succeed. He relied on friends and family who believed in the project, along with a small grant from the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), making Launch It the first private investment fund to back Proofig AI.

On a personal level, I was familiar with the issue the company is trying to address through my wife’s PhD in biology, where she had to include images to prove her thesis. Her sensitivity about the choice of images in her experiments made it easy for me to understand what value the technology could provide to researchers, universities, and publishers.

The landscape for AI-driven investments

AI-driven solutions in scientific research are becoming increasingly competitive, with many tools focused on various aspects of the research process. This includes assisting with academic writing, like ChatGPT, while others help with reviews or data analysis.

Proofig AI made a smart, strategic decision to focus on an often overlooked niche by focusing on ensuring the integrity of scientific images. It is an area that has received less attention, and in an age where AI can generate incredibly realistic images, the need for a tool that ensures scientific image integrity is critical.

Currently, Proofig AI is focused on ethical issues in academic research, an area of real potential. By specialising in detecting manipulations and falsifications, Proofig AI not only fills a gap in the market but positions itself as a leader in this space. Its focused approach, backed by a clear vision and execution, gives them a clear competitive edge.

In addition, its technology has promise beyond academia, including scanning large databases and ensuring data integrity across various sectors where accuracy is crucial, such as healthcare, insurance and the public sector. We are moving into an era where AI technologies are becoming increasingly influential, and I believe Proofig AI will play a role in making data more reliable and trustworthy, ensuring a better future for research and other data-driven industries.

Making the decision to invest

When evaluating investments in startups, we focus primarily on the founding team and their vision. A well-balanced team – combining domain expertise, a strong drive for success, curiosity, and humility – along with a personal connection and mutual trust with the investor, is key to success.

If we are convinced that the problem the startup is addressing is real, and the proposed solution is both logical and effective, that serves as a strong indicator for investment, provided the terms align with our investment model.

As investors, we believe in backing innovative ventures that combine high return potential with a positive impact on industry and the world. We look for entrepreneurs with a clear vision, creative thinking, and proven execution skills who bring real, meaningful value to their market.

Like any investment company, we would like to see smart financial returns, where there is high return on investment potential, considering the market structure, business model and leadership team with a reasonable time for maturity, something that doesn’t require long development cycles and has a realistic return timeline.

In addition to the numbers side, we want the venture to have a positive impact which improves an industry, streamlines a process or creates substantial value for society. We also prioritise socially responsible companies and want to invest in ventures that address significant problems with solutions that add value, rather than a gimmick.

Proofig AI is an excellent example of how AI can create both opportunities and present challenges within the scientific community, and we see it as a crucial solution to an escalating problem. AI revolutionises data analysis, process optimisation, and accelerates research, but it does introduce new risks, especially in academic integrity, where it’s easier than ever to alter or falsify scientific images in ways that are hard to detect.

As generative AI technologies improve and become more accessible, solutions like Proofig AI will become even more important. Its tool that identifies manipulations in scientific images – whether due to innocent errors or deliberate falsification – provides an essential layer of protection for research credibility.

The company also meets all our values and Dror Kolodkin-Gal has proven himself to be a great listener, a quick learner, and able to manage independently. An investor looks for these characteristics in a founder, who is diligent, persistent, sets realistic goals for the organisation and is willing to seek advice.

Combined with a venture that creates real value with the potential to become even more significant in the future, Dror is a true asset.  

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.