Travel app developer wins Birmingham business awards

Tom Charman, chief executive of urban travel app Kompass has been selected as Birmingham’s Future Face of Innovation and Technology

Charman, chief executive of travel technology firm Kompass, was a double winner in the 2017 Future Faces Awards of Birmingham ceremony. He won the Innovation and Technology category before going on to be named ‘Future Face of Greater Birmingham’.

Kompas, which was founded in 2015, uses machine learning to personalise travel recommendations to its users. The company describes its app as “a pocket guide to the world’s urban jungles”. 

“After starting my first business at 16, I’ve been passionate about building solutions to problems that millions of people face,” said Charman.

At present, the company is present across four cities in the UK and Europe, including Birmingham, Berlin, Munich and London, and will be expanding into Exeter and Liverpool this week. 

As well as expanding his own business, Charman said he wants help others start and grow their own ventures. He is a mentor for Virgin StartUp and Startup Weekend. He has given a TEDx talk on Artificial Intelligence and is building a reputation as a thought leader in the space of machine learning in particular.