In a remarkable career pivot, a former British Army officer who served for two decades has traded combat zones for the cutting-edge world of artificial intelligence. Alex Cooper, 48, is now the CEO and founder of Electric Twin, a London-based AI company he launched in 2023 after a journey that took him from the City's trading floors to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and even the corridors of Downing Street.
From Trading Floors to Front Lines
Cooper's professional life began far from the tech scene. In 1999, he started as a trainee derivatives trader in the City, market-making bond options. The intense, desk-bound nature of the work, however, left him restless. "I quickly got twitchy behind a desk all day," he recalls. His search for adventure led him to walk into an Army recruiting office on a whim, a decision that resulted in a 20-year military career where he led combat troops in complex operations from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Upon leaving the forces in early 2020, Cooper's plan was unclear, but fate intervened with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within weeks, he was asked to join Number 10 to help establish the UK's national testing programme. "That was a huge challenge," he says, expressing pride in the system his team built under extreme pressure.
The Birth of an AI Vision
It was during this critical period in government that Cooper's path to entrepreneurship was forged. While working in Downing Street, he met Dr Ben Warner, then the Prime Minister's data advisor. The pair shared frustrations about making high-stakes decisions with imperfect data. This common challenge became the catalyst for their venture. Together, they channelled their experience into founding Electric Twin.
The company's mission is to revolutionise how businesses understand their customers. It does this by creating AI-powered synthetic audiences. This innovative technology allows organisations to rapidly gain accurate insights into how real people think and behave, compressing research timelines dramatically.
Life in London and Lessons Learned
Now firmly back in the capital, Cooper appreciates the unique energy of London, a city that has been central to his diverse careers in finance, the military, government, and now tech. His one gripe? "Idiots on Lime bikes jumping red lights."
His journey hasn't been without its humorous missteps. During his first venture capital fundraise, he injured himself while putting up sheep fencing in Wales, arriving to meet investors with a massive bandage on his head. He also recalls the awkward moment Prime Minister Boris Johnson stopped him for a chat in a No 10 corridor while he was on the phone, mid-argument with his wife.
When asked about the best career advice he's received, Cooper emphasises the importance of the journey over the destination. "Life’s too short to slave away at a distant goal without inspiration along the way," he states, a philosophy that clearly guides his current work. He looks up to former general Stanley McChrystal as an inspirational leader.
Now, with Electric Twin moving into an exciting growth phase, taking on more clients and building its team, Cooper is 100 per cent optimistic for the year ahead. He cites London's superb talent pool as a key advantage for scaling his AI business. When not in his Holland Park weekday home or favourite London haunts like Taza on Queensway or the Cittie of Yorke pub, he can be found in Wales at weekends, running up hills or laying hedges, before perhaps heading off for a family surfing trip to Mexico.
