About Eric
Eric Topham is Co-Founder & CEO of Federated AI for IoT scale-up OctaiPipe. Eric’s early academic path led him to study machine learning and statistical analyses at various leading Universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
After graduation, Eric moved into public health as a commercial data scientist. His experience provided invaluable insight into how to initiate digital transformation and apply machine learning at scale for large organisations such as the NHS and the London Ambulance Service.
Realising a need for trustworthy and scalable AI in critical infrastructure to keep pace with today’s data demands, Eric and his co-founders launched Octaipipe, a Federated Learning end-to-end Edge AI software platform targeting industrial OEM's and device manufacturers. The platform enables data scientists to build and orchestrate networks of intelligent Edge devices, streamlining the lifecycle from network set-up and training, to deployment and continuous learning.
Eric is widely considered an early adopter and pioneer in the AI space and recognised early on the potential of its purpose, in particular across critical and digital infrastructure sectors in the UK and around the developed world.
Fast forward to 2023 and Federated Learning has emerged as a transformative technology in AI that addresses a fundamental concern in our digital age: data, privacy and security.
Outside Eric’s professional life, he's a keen sailor who captained the Oxford University team for four years, becoming British national vice champions.
