We began with an idea, how could we harness the power of AI to analyse DNA on a large scale? We worked for over 2 years on a prototype learning machine to rigorously pour though millions of records. We began searching for a name after we got a bit tired of calling it “the AI”.

The new AI model started out making lots of mistakes, and our DNA Experts had to spend months correcting and helping the learning process. We built in security from the ground up, DNA data isn’t ours, it always belongs to the individual, so we worked out how to isolate the data whilst still allowing an AI to access and learn without disclosing anything to other users.

One of the fundamental challenges we faced was getting enough computing power to allow us to unleash the full learning potential of our new Nightingale AI. We decided to use AWS as our platform and after significant financial investment the model began to increase in accuracy, achieving a 94% success rate within 3 weeks.

We are aiming to unleash Nightingale in the coming year and have already started working on a web interface that will enable visitors to upload their DNA for her to analyse and provide insight.