SKC Studios accepted onto the UCF Business Incubation Program as it enters the US market
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 September 2026
Cambridgeshire, UK and Orlando, Florida, September 2026 - SKC Studios, the UK creative technology company behind the conversational AI platform 1956 Individuals, has been accepted onto the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program (UCFBIP), joining its Discovery & Validation Program as the company begins its formal entry into the United States market.
The three-month engagement, which kicked off this month, is designed to help international companies evaluate and de-risk expansion into Central Florida through structured customer discovery, market validation and curated introductions across the regional business ecosystem. For SKC Studios, it marks the first deliberate step in building a US presence for a platform that has, until now, been deployed principally across the UK and Europe.
The programme provides three advisor checkpoints across kickoff, midpoint and close-out, a Discovery Action Plan that serves as the working roadmap throughout, guided worksheets covering market entry goals, opportunity validation, financial feasibility and launch readiness. It has curated introductions to relevant ecosystem organisations and service providers. At its conclusion, participating companies hold a validated set of market assumptions, an understanding of the Central Florida business ecosystem and an informed decision on expansion.
Why Central Florida
In TIME's 2026 list of America's Best Incubators and Accelerators, the UCF Business Incubation Program was ranked the number one incubator in the State of Florida and seventeenth nationally, placing it ahead of the University of Florida at thirtieth and Plug and Play at thirty-fourth. It is one of a small number of programmes in the national top twenty whose primary focus is traditional business incubation rather than an accelerator model.
Central Florida is also the natural home for the sectors 1956 Individuals already serves which includes Retail, Travel and Hospitality, Healthcare and Visitor Experiences. Orlando sits at the centre of the global attractions, themed entertainment and simulation industries, and hosts IAAPA Expo, the sector's largest annual gathering, in November. SKC Studios will be exhibiting at the show, and the incubator engagement has been timed so that the company has market entry planning, relationship building and a presence on the ground in place ahead of it.
Vishal Kapoor, Head of Sales, Global at SKC Studios, is heading the US expansion and will work closely with the UCF Business Incubation Program team throughout the engagement.
Information you can talk to®
1956 Individuals is a conversational AI platform that transforms static information into interactive digital experiences, built around the idea of turning information into something you can talk to. The platform supports avatars, which carry story, context and interpretation within experiences and attractions, as well as functional avatars, which support practical operations including wayfinding, bookings, service navigation and first-contact support.
The platform is already deployed across heritage and retail settings. At Leeds Castle it powers AI Queen Eleanor of Castile, described as the world's first environment-aware historical AI avatar, created for the Pilgrimage of Love: Eleanor of Castile exhibition and able to converse in English, French and Spanish. In retail, an initial single-store trial at IKEA Reading introduced shoppers to the retailer's Scan & Pack service, and the platform has since moved into pilot deployments across additional retail outlets in the garden centre sector. It is also being used to develop AI William Gladstone for the Museum of the Prime Minister.
Babita Devi, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, 1956 Individuals, said:
"Our vision is to create a new interface layer between people, information and services, enabling organisations to make trusted knowledge, expertise and actions accessible through natural conversation. We are building momentum across the UK, but the United States is where that vision meets its largest audience.
"What drew us to the UCF Business Incubation Program was the depth of support in those first critical months and the quality of the introductions it opens up. Getting in front of prospective clients and partners in the region that is home to the global attractions industry is exactly the kind of grounded start we wanted. This is a considered market entry rather than a flag-planting exercise, and we intend to build a real presence in Orlando."
ENDS
About the UCF Business Incubation Program
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program works with international companies and US-based businesses evaluating expansion into Central Florida or establishing new operations in the region. Its focus is reducing the risk and uncertainty of expansion by helping companies validate their opportunity, develop a clear market entry strategy and execute successfully in the US market. In TIME's 2026 list of America's Best Incubators and Accelerators it was ranked first in Florida and seventeenth nationally.
Website: incubator.ucf.edu
About SKC Studios
1956 Individuals is the conversational AI platform built by the team at SKC Studios. It features interactive, multilingual AI avatars designed for real-world environments, across two types of deployment. Asset avatars carry story, context, and interpretation for experiences, attractions, and cultural settings. Utility avatars handle operational tasks such as service navigation, bookings, and first-contact support across healthcare, retail, and high-footfall environments.
Engineered for enterprise impact, the platform enables organisations to turn approved content into live interaction and meaningful action, enhancing engagement while supporting operational efficiency.
Every deployment is governed by transparency and ethical design, providing conversational access to information and consistent outcomes at scale.
Contact: SKC Studios
Vishal Kapoor
Head of Sales, Global
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