At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week, we're speaking with Ian Yeates, UK Head of Business Development at Galvia.
Can you tell us about Galvia AI and what inspired its founding?
According to recent 2025 ONS data, just 17% of UK retail businesses currently use AI, and 65% have no plans to start. At Galvia, we speak with retail leaders every day — many are unsure where to begin or how to unlock the value of their data.
Retailers face complex, interconnected challenges: economic pressure, rising customer expectations, and the need for smarter operational decisions. AI can help with these, but only when focused on solving real problems.
That’s why we created our AI platform purpose-built for the retail sector. Galvia connects and analyses data across core systems such as inventory, ePOS, online, and loyalty — to deliver one view of business KPIs, Customers and Inventory along with predictions and real-time prompts that drive revenue and growth.
What are the core services or solutions that Galvia AI provides, and who are your main customers?
Galvia Retail provides one connected view across KPIs, customers, and inventory. It unifies siloed systems to deliver a clear view of what is happening in the business, along with predictions and actionable prompts, helping retailers see what’s happening, what’s coming next, and what to do about it.
The result: clarity on today, confidence in tomorrow, and action that drives measurable growth.
We work with UK retailers across all retail sectors, e.g. grocery, fashion, homeware, pharmacy, and speciality retail. I focus on engaging senior decision-makers — CEOs, Heads of Retail, CFOs, IT Directors, and Heads of Digital & Innovation who are ready to use AI to unlock new value, whether they operate online, offline, or both.
How does Galvia AI help businesses - especially in the retail sector - leverage artificial intelligence for growth and innovation?
Galvia empowers retail leaders to make smarter, faster decisions that drive growth, improve margins, and boost efficiency.
Traditional BI tools like Power BI stop at static dashboards. Galvia goes further — it’s an evolving machine learning product that learns from your data, adapts to your business rules, and continuously expands to cover new use cases while delivering one view of your KPIs and predictions and prompts to drive growth.
Unlike standard SaaS tools, Galvia Retail is tailored to your specific operations, not generic templates.
Why did you choose to join Manchester Digital, and what does being part of this community mean to you?
We’re excited to establish roots in Manchester — a city with a dynamic tech ecosystem and a strong vision for innovation. Being part of Manchester Digital connects us with a community that shares our drive to collaborate, learn, and build impactful technology together, and I’m very proud to have recently taken up the role of UK Head of Business Development for Galvia.
What impact do you hope Galvia AI will have on the Greater Manchester digital and tech ecosystem?
Galvia has been pioneering AI for over seven years, which, in AI terms, is a long time! We’ve delivered successful AI solutions for global organisations, including Nestlé and NTT Data.
Our focus today is the retail sector, where we’re already working with leading retailers in Ireland, such as Petstop, transforming how they use AI to streamline operations and accelerate growth. We’re excited to bring this expertise to the Greater Manchester ecosystem and collaborate with local retailers to do the same.
Are there any upcoming projects, initiatives, or events from Galvia AI that you’re particularly excited to share with our members?
We’re really excited to be the headline sponsor for the ACS Innovation & NPD Showcase 2025, taking place on October 21st at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
It’s one of the key retail events of the year, bringing together retailers, suppliers, and innovators from across the convenience sector. I’ll be there as well as our CEO John Clancy, who is a speaker at the event, giving real-world examples of AI in retail.
Whether you’re attending or not, feel free to reach out to me at ian@galvia.ai to arrange a chat or a demo of our platform.
Thank you Ian!
Click here to find out more about Galvia.
