Mind Foundry is an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

company that is headquartered in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The company is a

spin-out A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Charact ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

and was founded by two professors of

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

at the university,

Stephen Roberts Stephen Roberts may refer to: * Stephen Roberts (footballer, born 1980), former Welsh football player * Stephen Roberts (Australian footballer) (born 1948), former Australian rules footballer * Stephen Roberts (darts player) (born 1957), English dar ...

. and Michael Osborne. The company specialises in “AI for high-stakes applications”. Mind Foundry primarily operates in three sectors:

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

, Infrastructure, and

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

& National Security.

History

Mind Foundry was founded in 2016 out of the Machine Learning Research Group at the University of Oxford by professors Stephen Roberts and Michael Osborne. Mind Foundry received investment from

Oxford Science Enterprises Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) (Previously known as ''Oxford Sciences Innovation'') is a British early-stage venture capital firm with over $800M in AUM based in Oxford, UK. It operates in partnership with the University of Oxford, as the univ ...

and Parkwalk Advisors in an initial

seed round Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' ...

in 2016. In 2019 the company appointed Brian Mullins as its CEO. In 2020 the company raised $13.6 million investment in a

Series A round A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exc ...

that was led by Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company Ltd (ANDI), part of the

MS&AD Insurance Group () is a Japanese insurance company. Its businesses include Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance. It is listed on the Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stoc ...

. Other investors in the series A round included Parkwalk Advisors, Oxford Sciences Innovation, the University of Oxford, and the Oxford Technology and Innovations EIS Fund. In February 2023 it was announced that Mind Foundry had launched a commercial

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physici ...

in Oxford in partnership with ANDI called the Aioi R&D Lab - Oxford. The Aioi R&D Lab - Oxford "brings together experts from numerous disciplines to apply cutting-edge research on projects that solve global-scale issues affecting society today, and in the future." In 2023 Mind Foundry raised a further $22 million in investment in a

series B round A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...

, bringing the total amount the company has raised to date to $44 million. Mind Foundry and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance were named winners in the UK–Japan Partnership category at the British Business Awards gala by the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan in November 2023. In January 2025 Mind Foundry was named at number 11 in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

Tech 100, a list ranking Britain's fastest-growing private tech companies.

References

{{Reflist Artificial intelligence companies Artificial intelligence stubs Companies based in Oxford University spin-offs Companies established in 2016