Profitual, a financial intelligence startup founded by a pair of former New Brunswick Innovation Foundation execs, is one of 40 companies nationally to be accepted into startup support organization NEXT Canada’s 2024 AI cohort.

NEXT, a non-profit, will offer cohort companies not just the usual accelerator curriculum and networking opportunities, but also access to AI scientists associated with the program. The accelerator begins this month and will run until September.

Fredericton-based Profitual is the brainchild of Raymond Fitzpatrick and Daniel Hoyles. The duo sell an artificial intelligence system that probes small and medium-sized enterprises’ financial records to generate models, revenue projections and other calculations, with a particular eye towards helping startups raise capital.

“Looking forward to working with the renowned ecosystem of mentors and staff to maximize financial intelligence for our customers with AI-enabled solutions,” said the company in a statement.

Fitzpatrick was previously NBIF’s director of finance and investments, while Hoyles was an NBIF investment associate and COO of cleantech startup Grey Island Energy. They left their previous roles to found Profitual in 2021, closing a nearly $1.2 million funding round the following year.

Now, their staff has cracked the double digits, according to LinkedIn data. And in an outside-the-box solution to business development beyond the company’s home territory, those employees in September began travelling to Toronto and working out of the MaRS Discovery District innovation hub on a rotating basis.

“In an effort to reach as many start-ups as possible to assist them with financial intelligence that revolves around forecasting, benchmarking, and reporting we knew it made sense to have a physical presence in the city with the highest cluster of start-ups in all of Canada,” wrote Fitzpatrick at the time.