# Interview Research Pack: 1956 Individuals / SKC Studios *Prepared: 25 March 2026* --- ## 1. Company Overview | Field | Detail | |---|---| | **Product/Brand** | 1956 Individuals | | **Parent Company** | SKC Studios Limited (Companies House #12042744) | | **Location** | The EpiCentre, Enterprise Way, Haverhill Research Park, Haverhill, CB9 7LR, UK | | **Founded** | 2019 (as SKC Games Studio; pivoted to enterprise AI) | | **Employees** | ~25 | | **Email** | hello@skcstudios.uk | | **Phone** | +44 7494 209807 | | **CEO** | Asa Burrows | | **Backing** | SoftBank Robotics / SoftBank AI | ### History SKC Studios started life as **SKC Games Studio** in 2019, building game worlds with emotionally intelligent NPCs. As the AI technology matured, the team recognised its potential beyond gaming and pivoted into enterprise — creating the **1956 Individuals** platform. The name "1956" likely references the **Dartmouth Conference** (1956), widely regarded as the founding event of artificial intelligence as an academic field. The company was the **very first tenant** at The EpiCentre innovation hub in Haverhill and has grown from a small games studio to a ~25-person company expanding across the UK, Middle East, and Americas. --- ## 2. What They Do 1956 Individuals builds **conversational AI avatars** — lifelike digital characters that visitors/users can talk to in natural language. Their philosophy is *"AI with heart"* — combining emotional intelligence with ethical, human-centred design. The platform enables organisations to: - Deploy AI avatars that **converse naturally in 100+ languages** with automatic language detection - **Integrate with existing systems** (CRM, backend tools) to trigger workflows, pull data, and update records - Capture **real-time interaction analytics** via their CMS - Scale engagement across museums, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and tourism ### Key Differentiator They're **not a chatbot company**. They position themselves distinctly — every avatar starts with a hand-drawn character by award-winning artists, then is brought to life by the development team. The gaming heritage gives them a craft approach to character design that most AI vendors lack. --- ## 3. Product Lines | Category | Description | |---|---| | **Legends/Icons** | Historically accurate characters grounded in documented sources (e.g., Alan Turing, Queen Eleanor of Castile) | | **Personas** | Bespoke brand ambassadors and service agents tailored to a client's brand | | **Originals** | Ready-to-deploy characters — off-the-shelf for pilots and events, or customised exclusively for a client | --- ## 4. Key Clients & Case Studies ### Bletchley Park — AI Alan Turing - Interactive, unscripted conversations about Turing's life, codebreaking, and legacy - Developed in collaboration with **Turing's family** and the **Archive Centre at King's College Cambridge** - Provides historical context and answers visitor questions ### Leeds Castle — AI Queen Eleanor of Castile - Described as the **"world's first environment-aware historical AI avatar"** - Transforms heritage interpretation with factual, engaging storytelling - Environment-aware = responds to context of the physical space ### Museum of the Prime Minister — AI William Gladstone - Conversational avatar exploring Gladstone's leadership, political legacy, and documented controversies ### Modality Partnership (NHS) — Digital Front Door - One of the UK's largest GP super-partnerships - Multilingual patient guidance to reduce delays and improve access - Governed to NHS data protection and cybersecurity standards - Frees clinicians to focus on care ### Internal — AI Zoe Starling - 24/7 AI sales team member operating across multiple sectors and geographies --- ## 5. Certifications & Compliance - **ISO 9001** — Quality Management - **ISO 14001** — Environmental Management - **ISO 42001:2023** — Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS) - **ISO 27001** — Information Security - **Cyber Essentials Plus** - GDPR compliant - Follows **Microsoft's Responsible AI Standard** and **IEEE principles for Autonomous Intelligent Systems** This is a strong compliance posture — particularly ISO 42001 (relatively new, specific to AI) which demonstrates they take AI governance seriously. --- ## 6. Investment & Expansion - **Backed by SoftBank Robotics / SoftBank AI** - Active fundraising via the Investment Index platform - Targeting **Middle East** expansion (showcased at IAAPA Middle East 2026) - Listed on **Microsoft AppSource** as a verified web app - Member of **IAAPA** (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) - Connected Innovation network member --- ## 7. Awards & Media Coverage - **Business Weekly Awards** — AI Innovation category winner - **Alan Turing AI Innovator Award** - Featured on **BBC News**, Cambridge Independent, Business Weekly, blooloop, Museums + Heritage --- ## 8. Technology Background ### Likely Technology Stack Based on what's publicly known about the product, the following technologies are almost certainly in use: #### Core Conversational AI - **Large Language Models (LLMs)** — likely using OpenAI (GPT-4/o series), Anthropic (Claude), or similar for natural language understanding and generation. Enterprise platforms often use multiple providers. - **Speech-to-Text (ASR)** — services like Whisper (OpenAI), Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, or Deepgram for transcribing spoken input in real time - **Text-to-Speech (TTS)** — services like ElevenLabs, Azure Neural TTS, or Google Cloud TTS for generating natural-sounding avatar speech - **Natural Language Understanding (NLU)** — intent classification, entity extraction for routing queries and triggering workflows #### Avatar & Visual Technology - **Real-time character animation** — likely Unreal Engine or Unity given the gaming heritage, with real-time facial animation driven by audio/emotion - **Facial expression recognition** — detecting user emotions (via camera) to adapt avatar responses (Microsoft Azure Face API, or similar) - **Character rendering** — 2D/3D character art, likely using tools like Unreal Engine MetaHuman, Unity, or custom WebGL/Three.js for web deployment #### Backend & Integration - **APIs and webhooks** for connecting to client systems (CRM, databases, NHS patient systems, etc.) - **CMS platform** — their own content management system for configuring avatar knowledge bases, monitoring interactions, and analytics - **Knowledge bases / RAG** — Retrieval-Augmented Generation to ground avatar responses in verified client content (especially for historical characters) #### Multilingual - **Automatic language detection** from speech input - **Real-time translation** — either via the LLM's multilingual capabilities or dedicated translation APIs (DeepL, Google Translate API) #### Deployment - **Cloud hosting** — likely Azure (given Microsoft partnership, AppSource listing, and responsible AI alignment) - **Hardware kiosks** — for physical installations in museums, healthcare settings, etc. - **Web-based** — via Microsoft AppSource and web deployment #### Security & Compliance - **ISO 27001-aligned** infrastructure - **End-to-end encryption** for conversations - **Consent management** — opt-in data collection, clear AI disclosure - **GDPR-compliant** data handling ### How It All Works Together 1. **User approaches the avatar** (kiosk, web, mobile) and starts speaking 2. **Speech-to-Text** converts their voice to text, with automatic language detection 3. The **LLM** processes the text, pulling context from the **knowledge base (RAG)** to generate a relevant, accurate response 4. **NLU** identifies intents — if the user needs an action (book appointment, get directions, update records), a **workflow is triggered** via API integration 5. The **LLM response** is converted to speech via **Text-to-Speech**, while the **avatar animation system** generates matching facial expressions and lip movements 6. If a camera is present, **facial expression recognition** may adapt the avatar's emotional tone 7. **Analytics** are captured in the CMS for the client to review interaction patterns and insights --- ## 9. Interview Talking Points ### Things That Set Them Apart - **Gaming heritage** — they think about characters, narrative, and emotional connection, not just AI plumbing - **Ethics-first approach** — ISO 42001, AI disclosure, consent management - **Heritage sector credibility** — Bletchley Park, Leeds Castle, Museum of the PM - **Healthcare work** — NHS/Modality Partnership shows they can handle regulated, high-stakes environments - **Multi-BAFTA creative team** — serious artistic talent, not just engineers ### Growth Indicators - Expanding internationally (Middle East, Americas) - SoftBank backing - Growing team (~25 and hiring) - Multiple sectors: heritage, healthcare, retail, hospitality, tourism ### Potential Questions to Ask Them - What's the tech stack behind the avatars? - How do they handle knowledge base accuracy for historical characters? - What's the deployment model — cloud, on-premise, hybrid? - How do they manage latency for real-time conversational experiences? - What's the roadmap for the platform? - How does the gaming background influence their approach vs. pure AI companies? --- *Sources: 1956individuals.ai, The EpiCentre case study, Business Weekly, Connected Innovation, IAAPA, Retail Technology Show, Companies House*