Venkata’s UK Innovator Founder Success Story: Building Cognigen to Transform NHS Healthcare with AI

Client: Venkata Subrahmanyam Chakka 

Visa Route: UK Innovator Founder Visa 

Goal: Secure endorsement and visa approval to build and scale Cognigen, an AI-powered NHS platform, in the United Kingdom 

Preparation Time: Approximately 6 months 

Endorsement Time: 4 weeks 

Client Backstory: Venkata is a technologist with an MSc in artificial intelligence and a track record of deploying AI solutions in healthcare environments. The business had already secured a formal NHS data partnership and a seed investor before the visa application was submitted.

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WHAT WAS THE KEY TRIGGER FOR APPLYING FOR A VISA?

The trigger was the moment the business became real. We had the idea for Cognigen for some time, but when we secured access to the Thames Valley and Surrey NHS Secure Data Environment to develop and validate our algorithms using real patient data, it changed everything. That partnership was proof that the NHS would take us seriously. At that point, I knew the business had to be built in the UK — that is where the problem is, where the data is, and where the opportunity is. Staying on the sidelines was no longer an option.

WHY DID THIS PARTICULAR VISA SEEM THE MOST SUITABLE?

The Innovator Founder route was designed for someone in my position – a founder already in the UK, building something genuinely new and with a credible business rather than simply pursuing an idea. I was already in the UK, building a company that could change how the NHS tackles one of its biggest operational challenges. The route recognised that kind of ambition and allowed me to continue developing a business that did not fit neatly within the constraints of other visa categories.

‍WHAT DOUBTS OR FEARS DID YOU HAVE BEFORE THE PROCESS BEGAN?

My biggest fear was that the application would reduce everything to a checklist and miss the substance of what we were building. Healthcare AI is complex, and the problem we are solving- costing the NHS over £2 billion a year – requires technical depth and clinical insight to even explain properly. I worried that this would not come across in a visa application. I also questioned whether my profile was strong enough on paper, given that Cognigen was pre-revenue at the time of application.

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What accomplishments did you consider most relevant?

My MSc in Artificial Intelligence was the foundation, but what mattered more was the practical experience — deploying AI models in healthcare settings, working with large and complex datasets, and building systems that had to be reliable in high-stakes environments. I had also been involved in negotiating technical partnerships, which is a different skill set from pure engineering and one that proved very relevant when we were speaking to NHS trusts and local authorities.

Were there any career milestones that unexpectedly played a big role?

Yes. The work I had done on cloud-based business intelligence systems turned out to be more important than I had anticipated. The NHS is not a single system but dozens of them that do not talk to each other. Having experience in making disparate data sources interoperable gave Cognigen credibility that pure AI expertise alone would not have provided. That background shaped the architecture of our platform and gave us something concrete to demonstrate to NHS partners.

How did you structure your profile given the diversity of your experience?

The key was building a single coherent narrative rather than listing everything I had done. The thread running through my career is using data and AI to solve problems that have real human consequences. Every role, every project, every technical decision I had made pointed toward something like Cognigen. Once that narrative was clear, the diversity of experience became a strength rather than a complication.

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How did you prepare?

Preparation happened in parallel across several streams. On the business side, we finalised our investment arrangements, giving us a signed term sheet and a clear capitalisation structure to reference. We also documented our NHS data partnership and our engagement with Kent County Council’s social care services. On the narrative side, I worked to articulate the business clearly for a non-technical audience, translating the problem, solution, and market opportunity into plain language. This helped ensure that the application presented not only the technical innovation, but also the commercial case, practical applications, and potential impact of the business.

What was the most difficult part?

Demonstrating viability for a pre-revenue business is genuinely hard. We had no customers, no revenue, and no live product. What we did have was a structured pilot plan, a committed investor, real NHS partnerships, and a detailed understanding of the market built on NHS England's own published performance data. Making that case compellingly, showing that viability is not just about current revenue but about the strength of the foundation, was the hardest thing to get right.

What moments pleasantly surprised you?

I was surprised by how much the NHS data partnership mattered. I had initially thought of it primarily as a technical asset – access to real patient data for algorithm validation. But it turned out to be one of the strongest signals of credibility in the entire application. It showed that a regulated public institution had assessed our work and decided it was worth engaging with. That carried more weight than I expected.

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What helped you in working with the team?

Tech Nomads understood what we were building. Healthcare AI in the NHS context is not an easy thing to explain, and I had expected to spend a lot of time on background. Instead, the team engaged with the substance quickly and helped us shape the narrative in a way that would resonate with the endorsing body. They knew what the assessors were looking for and helped us present what we had in the right frame.

Where exactly did expert support play a decisive role?

The endorsement criteria- innovation, viability, scalability, and soundness are straightforward but are assessed quite specifically. Tech Nomads helped us understand how each element of our case mapped onto those criteria and where we needed to strengthen the evidence. The viability argument in particular benefited enormously from their input. Presenting a pre-revenue company as viable requires a specific kind of logic and structure, and they had done it before.

Was there anything you definitely could not have done alone?

I could have submitted something, but I doubt it would have captured the business the way it needed to be captured. There is a significant difference between knowing your business deeply and knowing how to present it to an endorsing body that is assessing hundreds of applications. Tech Nomads provided that translation layer. Without it, I think a lot of what made our case strong would have been buried or lost.

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How did you feel at different stages?

At the beginning, there was a lot of uncertainty. You are committing significant time and energy to a process with an outcome you cannot control while also trying to build a company. There were moments of real doubt – particularly around the viability question, where I questioned whether the timing was right. Once we were deep into preparation and the narrative was coming together, that shifted into something closer to confidence. By the time we submitted, I felt we had put forward the strongest possible case. The wait after submission was its own kind of difficulty, but the confidence in the submission helped.

What advice would you give to professionals who doubt whether they have enough achievements?

Stop comparing yourself to a hypothetical ideal candidate and look honestly at what you have actually built and done. For me, the doubt was around revenue — we had none. But we had NHS partnerships, a committed investor, a technical team with real credentials, and a business addressing a problem backed by billions of pounds of published NHS data. Achievements are not only what shows up on a revenue line. If you have built something real, engaged real stakeholders, and can demonstrate that your idea has genuine traction in the world, that is a strong foundation.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over?

I would start documenting everything earlier. The partnerships, the conversations with NHS trusts, and the technical decisions and why we made them – all of that became important in the application, and some of it had to be reconstructed from memory or emails. A habit of keeping clear records of milestones and stakeholder engagements from the very beginning would have made the preparation smoother.

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NEXT STEPS

How have your life and career plans changed since receiving the visa?

The visa removed the uncertainty that was always sitting in the background. When you are building a company without the certainty that you will be able to stay in the country, there is a constant constraint on how far ahead you can plan. That is gone now. I can make long-term commitments to the business, to the team, and to the partnerships we are building.

What opportunities opened up immediately?

The most immediate change was in how we were perceived in conversations with NHS trusts and potential partners. Having the endorsement and the visa signals a level of institutional credibility that matters in the NHS environment. It is not just about immigration status — it communicates that an independent body has assessed the business and found it credible. That has opened doors and shortened conversations.

What are your expectations from this new stage — personally and professionally?

Professionally, the priority is to complete the pilot phase and convert it into paid relationships with care providers and NHS trusts. We have a clear path from the pilot to commercial revenue, and I am focused on executing against that. Personally, I want to build something that genuinely improves patient outcomes and reduces the pressure on NHS staff. If Cognigen can make a meaningful dent in that, it will be worth everything the last few years have required.

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