William Sachiti Explained

William Sachiti
Birth Place:Harare, Zimbabwe
Education:Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Occupation:Entrepreneur, Inventor
Known For:Dragons' Den, Kar-go, mycityvenue, Academy of Robotics

Pasi William Sachiti (born May 1984) is a Zimbabwean-born [1] British entrepreneur and inventor. Sachiti is the founder and CEO of Academy of Robotics, an autonomous technology company which is primarily known for developing street-legal self-driving vehicles[2] [3] and solutions for road maintenance.[4] [5]

Career

Early ventures

William Sachiti appeared on the BBC investment programme Dragons' Den in 2009 seeking investment for his company - Clever Bins. Clever Bins manufactured solar-powered digital advertising bins intended for public spaces. The Dragons did not invest in the business (with Dragon Peter Jones describing Sachiti's pitch as "infuriating and complete rubbish", and "the biggest load of bull I've ever heard in the Den"),[6] but the business continued trading and secured a partnership with Keep Britain Tidy [7] and trials with local councils in Manchester [8] and London.[9]

In 2011 Sachiti (along with co-founder Ronald Ndoro) went on to develop a digital concierge service known as mycityvenue, which operated for a short time before being acquired by SecretEscapes in 2014.[10] [11] [12]

While studying at Aberystwyth University, Sachiti and another student (Ariel Ladegaard) developed a prototype robot for navigating users around the main library at the university.[13] [14] Sachiti left the university before graduating, but still won an entrepreneurship prize along with Laadegard and another student - Aparajit Narayan. The trio were awarded £10,000 in prize money by the university’s entrepreneurship program for developing a theoretical solution to the last-mile delivery problem called Car-go (later renamed to Kar-go).[15]

Sachiti later founded a company to build on these early projects - Academy of Robotics. The Kar-go vehicle was developed further in collaboration with Pilgrim Motorsports, before finally being revealed in July 2019 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Personal life

In early 2022, William Sachiti purchased a former RAF base (RAF Neatishead)[21] [22] and moved onto the site in Norfolk.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: This Zimbabwean has built a self-driving car in the UK. And it will be on the streets in 6 months. 10 July 2017. Techzim. 22 July 2017. 28 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728160536/http://www.techzim.co.zw/2017/06/zimbabwean-built-self-driving-car-uk-will-streets-6-months/. live.
  2. Web site: 2020-11-10 . UK's first robot delivery vehicle completes landmark journey . 2023-03-28 . The Independent . en . 2023-03-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230328173944/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/robot-delivery-vehicle-uk-kar-go-london-b1720330.html . live .
  3. Web site: Davis . Anthony . 2020-10-29 . Kar-go Delivery Bot approved for use on British roads . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220813131630/https://highways.today/2020/10/29/kar-go-delivery-bot-approved-for-use-on-british-roads/ . 2022-08-13 . 2023-03-29 . Highways Today . en-GB.
  4. Web site: Eurovia trials robo-cars to ferry tools to highways sites . 2023-03-28 . Construction Enquirer . en-GB . 2023-03-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230328133255/https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/11/15/eurovia-trials-robo-cars-to-ferry-tools-to-highways-sites/ . live .
  5. Web site: Academy of Robotics and Eurovia to trial Kar-go for road maintenance . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200921124547/https://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/news/academy-of-robotics-eurovia-uk/ . 2020-09-21 . 2023-03-30 . www.roadtraffic-technology.com.
  6. Web site: Robertson . Charles . BBC - Dragons' Den - Entrepreneurs - William T Sachiti . 2023-03-30 . www.bbc.co.uk . en-GB . 2022-05-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520101624/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/williamsachiti.shtml . live .
  7. Web site: News. March 14, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120314053650/http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/News/Default.aspx?newsID=944 . 2012-03-14 .
  8. Web site: Dragons' Den Clever Bins coming to an Oldham street near you. Manchester Evening. News. December 23, 2010. Manchester Evening News.
  9. Web site: Citizen Space Local. July 8, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110708155501/http://www.citizenspace.com/local/lbhf/LitterBins . 2011-07-08 .
  10. Web site: Secret Escapes Acquires My City Venue To Add More Events To Luxury Travel Club. Steve. O'Hear. July 24, 2014.
  11. Web site: Secret Escapes acquires My City Venue to strengthen events arm - Startups.co.uk. Megan. Dunsby. July 25, 2014.
  12. https://app.dealroom.co/companies/secret_escapes
  13. Web site: Meet Hugh, the robot librarian - Aberystwyth University . 18 March 2017 . Aber . 6 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043602/https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2016/02/title-181095-en.html . live .
  14. Web site: Library Robot Coming to Welsh University . 18 March 2017 . 18 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170318084000/http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/03/technology/library-robot-coming-to-welsh-university/ . dead .
  15. Web site: Car-go delivers £10,000 InvEnterPrize - Aberystwyth University . 2023-03-29 . www.aber.ac.uk . en . 2021-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210306152139/https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2017/03/title-199081-en.html . live .
  16. Web site: Kar-go is go . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210730140819/https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-coverage/festival-of-speed/2019/6/kar-go-is-go/ . 2021-07-30 . 2023-03-30 . www.goodwood.com.
  17. Web site: Reuters Editorial . Futuristic driverless vehicle offers 'last mile' delivery solution . Reuters Video . en.
  18. Web site: Autonomous delivery van drives at Goodwood Festival of Speed Computer Weekly . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208142147/https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252466277/Autonomous-delivery-van-drives-at-Goodwood-Festival-of-Speed . 2022-12-08 . 2023-03-30 . ComputerWeekly.com . en.
  19. Web site: Scammell . Robert . 2019-07-06 . Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: The top tech on show . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330170506/https://www.verdict.co.uk/goodwood-festival-of-speed-2019/ . 2023-03-30 . 2023-03-30 . Verdict . en-US.
  20. Web site: 2019-07-24 . Robot parcel deliveries are coming — but very slowly . 2023-03-30 . Sifted . en-US . 2023-03-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330170508/https://sifted.eu/articles/robot-parcel-deliveries-coming-slowly/ . live .
  21. Web site: BBC One - Look East . 2022-05-18 . BBC . en-GB . 2022-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517134113/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mj5w . live .
  22. Web site: Newton . Simon . Heart of Britain's Cold War defences gets new life as launch pad for cutting-edge tech . 2023-03-17 . Forces Network . 12 May 2022 . en . 2022-10-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221008215013/https://www.forces.net/technology/heart-britains-cold-war-defences-given-second-life-incubator-cutting-edge-tech . live .