ARRIA NLG has seen its shares surge more than 20 per cent after it was granted a patent in the United States and is on course to receive major funding in the next few weeks.
The AIM-listed company, which has software which translates large volumes of data into readable text, said the United States Patent and Trademark Office had indicated it will approve the application.
Arria’s chief scientist, professor Ehud Reiter, an Aberdeen University academic, is named as the inventor on the patent.
The protection covers a key part of Arria’s software, called a microplanner, which essentially lets customers choose how complex or simple they want the results to be.
The US patent office has judged the process is an “innovation that contributes to the field of computer science”.
Arria’s technology is deployed in areas including weather reporting, oil & gas production, agriculture, aviation, travel, financial services and insurance.
Prof Reiter said: "This new patent protects a key part of the automation of the natural language generation process that we believe significantly distinguishes our software from other players in the field.
“Older NLG models depend on two distinct processes - content determination (including data analysis) followed by linguistic rendering.
“Arria's Microplanning technology links them, affording a degree of control and flexibility that allows the Arria NLG Software Engine to create significantly more articulate reports and narratives."
Arria has already had two US patents granted for its technology.
Stuart Rogers, chief executive, said: “With Arria's help, machines are acquiring the artificial intelligence that allows them to generate and communicate language the way humans do, taking us far beyond templated scripts with dropped-in variables to a realm where our software can reason and communicate with the accuracy and authority of the expert, engineer or analyst whose tasks it automates."?Along with that Arria said it will receive around £2.9m funding within the next fortnight with a further £875,000 to come in before the end of this month.
It had previously confirmed it had secured the backing through new convertible loan notes and early drawdown of existing ones.
Shares closed up 8p at 44p.
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