Inside Cavefish AI: The Welsh Startup Turning Emotion into a Superpower

What if we could understand not just what people do — but why?

That’s the question driving Cavefish AI, a Welsh startup using emotional AI to decode human behavior in speech, video, and text. At the helm is founder Jonathan Prescott, a veteran of digital performance teams who set out to bridge the gap between action and emotion — and help leaders make better, more human decisions.

As part of the Interceltic Startup Challenge, Cavefish was selected to represent Wales at this year’s Interceltic Business Forum in Lorient. We spoke with Jonathan to learn more about the vision behind Cavefish, who it helps, and what it means to bring this innovation to a global stage.

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What inspired you to start your company?

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After decades of building and leading digital performance teams around the world, I kept coming back to the same core challenge: understanding why people behave the way they do. We’ve become incredibly good at tracking what users click, where they drop off, and how they convert — but we rarely ask why they make those choices.

That gap between behaviour and motivation is what inspired me to start the company. I wanted to create a solution that doesn’t just observe human actions — it interprets them emotionally. Because when you understand emotion, you unlock insight. And when you unlock insight, you drive better decisions — whether that’s in marketing, compliance, recruitment, or product design.

This isn’t just about data — it’s about human understanding at scale.

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Tell us what your startup does. What problem are you solving?

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Our startup uses emotional AI to decode why people behave the way they do across speech, video, and text. Most organisations measure behaviour — clicks, calls, churn — but they don’t understand the emotional drivers behind those actions.

We solve that gap.

Whether it's helping a contact centre detect rising frustration before a call escalates, giving HR teams insight into candidate confidence levels, or enabling security teams to identify emotional distress in public spaces, we're building technology that makes emotion measurable, actionable, and ethical.

Our mission is to give organisations emotional clarity in moments that matter.

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Who benefits most from your solution?

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Our solution is built for leaders and teams who need to understand people at a deeper level, beyond surface behaviour.

Security and defence teams benefit by detecting signs of emotional distress, deception, or agitation in real time, helping prevent incidents before they escalate.

Customer experience leaders in call centres use it to identify frustration or confusion early, improving satisfaction and reducing churn.

HR and recruitment professionals gain insight into candidate confidence and alignment, supporting fairer, more human decision-making.

Compliance and training teams can assess emotional engagement with content, helping them spot risk or disengagement before it becomes a problem.

Marketing and insight teams can understand how people feel, not just what they say, unlocking more authentic feedback and more impactful messaging.

Anyone responsible for making high-stakes decisions involving people can benefit from greater emotional clarity — and that is what we deliver.

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What does it mean to you to represent your region at the Interceltic Business Forum?

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It’s a real honour to represent our region — and to bring the innovation, resilience, and creativity that define it onto an international stage.

Coming from a Celtic nation means being part of a culture that values storytelling, connection, and community. Those same values run through how we build our business. We’re not just exporting technology; we’re exporting a mindset — one that believes deeply in emotional intelligence, in trust, and in building things that make a human difference.

To stand alongside other Celtic founders and leaders is a reminder that while we’re each rooted in our own place, we share something powerful — a heritage of bold thinking and a future of global impact.

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What’s Next?

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Jonathan and the other five winning founders will take the stage at the Interceltic Business Forum in Lorient on August 4th, sharing their vision with investors, partners, and policymakers from across the Celtic world and beyond.

This is more than a pitch — it’s a celebration of innovation rooted in identity, and a glimpse into the future of collaborative entrepreneurship across borders.

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🎟️ Join us in Lorient → Reserve your spot at the Interceltic Business Forum

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