A Cheltenham company working in AI-powered face-changing technology for health, finance and skincare has picked up a £50,000 award for its achievements in tackling inclusion innovation.

Run by investment specialists Innovate UK, the Inclusive Innovation Awards encourage businesses to consider diversity and inclusion in their approach to innovation.

Innovate UK said: "This includes ensuring that new products, processes and services are designed at the outset with diversity, and diverse users, in mind. We want to see more innovations developed with improvements in equality, diversity, and inclusion as a goal, resulting in a higher chance of commercial success and delivering benefits to all parts of society."

Fifty winners of the awards at three levels of tiering each receive £50,000 to use in upscaling winning ideas that celebrate inclusion in innovation and "centre on equality, diversity and inclusion in their design and development".

Ormond Place-based Change My Face, which was handed the accolade this week, says the boost will help it tackle bias in AI and machine learning models.

The company, launched by former FBI-trained forensic artist Auriole Prince, creates "automagical face-changing software to show the effects of lifestyle habits on the face as we age, such as sun damage, stress, diet and exercise", and its client list includes health, skincare and science museums, as well as the Scottish Government, the NHS, Visa, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Aetna CVS and This Works.

Ms Prince said: "We are excited to be working on new validated image datasets which will help us to analyse and learn more about health on different faces. The new range of products and services will be released under the name Future Face will aim to reach new markets in personalised health, skincare and beauty."

AI-powered technology now underpins health, wellness and longevity programs, Ms Prince said.

She added: "As a female business owner and creator of AI technology, tackling bias is a daily occurence. AI has slowly become a part of our everyday lives and we must work together to make sure it serves everyone in our community equally.

"During the pandemic, our health became the focus of so much attention and we aim to play a part in improving people's health through entertaining and engaging software."

Using the funding, data scientist Sofia Kohan has been employed full time to build image datasets for non-bias AI machine learning training, the company says.

● As a warning of the risks of "exclusive innovation", Innovate UK points to a recent video of handwashing technology in Atlanta went viral when a soap dispenser failed to detect dark skin but worked well on light skin, rndering the product unfit for purpose.