Rayyan Systems Inc is charting a path towards integrated collaboration for researchers across the globe to offer free, quick, and efficient access to important scientific tools to researchers.
What originated as an idea at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), part of Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, evolved into a service as an ‘entrepreneur-in-residence’ at the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foundation's (QF’s) Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI), where Robert Ayan, the CEO of Rayyan, developed an initial business case and secured a licence to the intellectual property.
The web/mobile application helps systematic review authors screen citations in a quick, easy and enjoyable fashion. The key ingredient in this initial development stage, which contributed the company’s seed-stage capital was the Tech Venture Fund (TVF) from QSTP.
“For entrepreneurs like myself, TVF adds invaluable support that goes way beyond simply a cash infusion into the business. The team gave us realistic expectations and markers of success to set our operations on solid ground, starting with discussions around our business plan, and ultimately serving as the anchor investor to set the stage for other investors to follow,” said Ayan.
Dr Ahmed Elmagarmid, executive director of QCRI, said: “Rayyan is a perfectly told story of how research can lead to innovation. The story of Rayyan started with an idea that fulfils a need and turned to reality at QCRI. It was clear, shortly after the system was developed, that this was a pressing need and, soon after, the software became the one of the most widely used systems anywhere. The system was built with the users in mind, and it focuses on delivering a solution. I am proud to have been one of the co-inventors of such transformational technology.”
Building on its refined combination of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, Rayyan licensed its technology from QF in late 2020 through the office of Industry Development and Knowledge Transfer (IDKT), part of QF Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI).
Today, the company enables over 175,000 researchers from 180 countries to cut through mountains of literature in search for relevant information to extract and synthesise that can propel their current research.
“We provide free access to an all-important scientific tool to researchers everywhere, in an effort to make a meaningful contribution to research and education. Rayyan stands out as an intuitive, easy-to-use product that brings together the most powerful AI technologies – from natural language processing to machine learning – through a powerful AI-powered workbench replete with tools that allow researchers to complete their work in a fraction of the time,” Ayan said.
The startup’s rapid success is indicative of the TVF’s goal of breaking down barriers for tech companies and building an innovation ecosystem in Qatar. Working with local and international accelerators, incubators, or spinouts from research institutes, the fund has supported nearly two dozen startups across multiple hi-tech verticals.
As a SaaS (software as a service) web-based research collaboration platform, Rayyan also facilitates the work of distributed teams, remote workers, and supports offline work in the midst of a global shift away from the traditional office space.
To apply and find out more about QSTP’s TVF, visit https://qstp.org.qa/tech-venture-fund/. To learn more about Rayyan, visit https://www.rayyan.ai/.
Rayyan CEO Robert Ayan.
