Fawcus and Owen Launch AI-Based Qual Venture

In the UK, MR industry veterans and Firefish execs Jem Fawcus and Richard Owen have launched a new company, QualifyAI, with a mission 'to automate qualitative research without stripping it of its humanity'. The partners say this is possible for the first time thanks to AI.

Fawcus (pictured above) has been running London-based Firefish for nearly a quarter of a century, while Owen (below) is the founder of CrowdLab, and a former Hall & Partners Chief Transformation Officer, who joined Firefish last February. In forming the new company the pair have worked closely with AI consultancy Deeper Insights to build AI agents trained on 'the very best of two decades of best-in-class qualitative research experience, to deliver end to end qualitative research at a speed and value that up to now has been unachievable'.

Initial products include Qualify:Comms, Qualify:Ideas and Qualify:Audiences. Fawcus comments: 'I am a qualitative research evangelist and lifer - and for the first time, in Generative AI, technology allows us to keep what is special about qual research, the focus on the human, without stripping it down to be superficial and reductive, whilst delivering speed, scale and value. We're working with Deeper Insights to ensure that the way our offer executes qualitative research is based on smart principles and high quality, so more people can benefit, and more fast-moving business problems can get solved with the power of qualitative research'.

Owen adds: 'Having put technology at the forefront of my research career, I'm thrilled to be able to take this next step with Jem, by using all of the power of AI in ways that stay true to the heart of the qualitative research ethos and giving more people the chance to benefit from rich human insight at the speed of AI'.

The new venture is online at www.qualifyai.co .