AI-Based Language Platform Writefull Joins Digital Science Portfolio
Deep Learning applied to discipline-specific scientific texts in order to improve the use of written English.
London – April 30 2019 Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, welcomes Artificial Intelligence (AI) based language platform, Writefull, to the Digital Science family of companies.
Writefull helps authors improve the clarity of their work. It suggests improvements to grammar and spelling, and to academic language usage, such as sentence structures in scientific writing, discipline-specific vocabulary, and appropriate word choice. These suggestions are based on real-world, context-specific usage rather than on a fixed set of grammatical rules.
Winner of a 2016 Digital Science Catalyst Grant, Writefull has been supported in their development from an early stage idea to a high-growth potential company, and is the first significant investment in AI by Digital Science. Writefull’s Deep Learning models have learned from billions of sentences taken from the scientific literature, making it very different from the standard rules-based grammar applications.
“I first met Juan and Alberto, the Writefull founders, in 2016, and their potential to make a huge impact in the research space was immediately clear,” said Steve Scott, Director of Portfolio Development, Digital Science. “Writefull will help authors to improve and express their ideas clearly before they submit articles for publication, especially those who have English as their second language. And publishers can use it to help relieve the administrative burden on editors, to maintain house style and to help with quality control.”
“Support from Digital Science has been invaluable,” said Juan Castro, CEO, Writefull. “From winning the Catalyst Grant, to the advice we were given through the programme, to receiving this significant investment, Digital Science has enabled us to quickly develop the idea towards becoming a service that researchers and publishers can use. We’re excited to be joining the portfolio.”
To find out more about Writefull, visit https://writefull.com/ or https://www.digital-science.com/products/writefull/
Notes to editors
About Digital Science
Digital Science is a technology company working to make research more efficient. We invest in, nurture and support innovative businesses and technologies that make all parts of the research process more open and effective. Our portfolio includes admired brands including Altmetric, Anywhere Access, Dimensions, Figshare, ReadCube, Symplectic, IFI Claims, GRID, Overleaf, Labguru, BioRAFT, TetraScience, Transcriptic, CC Technology, Gigantum and Ripeta. We believe that together, we can help researchers make a difference. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on Twitter.
About Writefull
Writefull is a startup that creates tools to help researchers improve their writing in English. The first version of the Writefull product allowed researchers to discover patterns in academic language, such as frequent word combinations and synonyms in context. The new version utilises Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning algorithms that will give researchers feedback on their full texts. Visit https://writefull.com/ and follow @writefullapp on Twitter.
