AI for the Eye Limited is a non-invasive diagnostic platform that combines retinal imaging and AI to screen for bovine tuberculosis in cattle, transforming how the disease is detected and managed on farms. Founder name: Michaela Thorne Startup name: AI for the Eye Current PhD student at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Describe your entrepreneurial journey in three words: resilience. determination. persistence. What is the startup idea?Using retinal imaging and AI to build a non-invasive diagnostic platform for bovine tuberculosis in cattle. Tell us more about the startup I graduated as a veterinary surgeon in 2015 from the University of Liverpool. During my time as a vet, I worked in various practices, including ophthalmology referral centres; this led me to apply for a PhD. The PhD helped me come up with a solution to a huge ongoing problem I witnessed as both a vet student and as a vet surgeon. What motivates you as an entrepreneur? To make a tangible, lasting difference for the cattle, farmers, vets, and rural communities devastated by bovine tuberculosis. How do you define success? Success to me means deploying a diagnostic platform that fundamentally transforms how bovine TB is screened and managed on farms. So far, we have achieved fantastic validation through awards including runner-up in the Converge KickStart Challenge, winning the University of Edinburgh LaunchPoint competition, and securing a Scottish EDGE Wildcard award. What piece of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs? Keep persevering, and keep people around you who aren't afraid to disagree; those are the voices that will help shape and strengthen your business the most. What role has Edinburgh Innovations played in your entrepreneurial journey?Edinburgh Innovations has been invaluable, from the funding, the connections, and the help I have received, specifically from Ross and Constanza through her Power Her Up accelerator. What's next?Next for the business is trying to secure a larger investment to accelerate prototype development and allow on-farm validation. PhD Max+ Explore where your research could take you next. Over eight weeks, you'll take part in a series of interactive workshops and hear directly from startup founders who were once PhDs or Postdocs themselves. This is a low-commitment way to test the waters with no prior business experience needed, just curiosity about where your research could go outside of academia. Find out more and apply now This article was published on Wednesday 28 October 2026
