RCS - Mindflair PLC - Sure Ventures PLC - Investee Company Update

MindflairAnnouncement

21/01/2025 08:45

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RNS Number : 1128U  Mindflair PLC  21 January 2025

 21 January 2025

Mindflair plc

 

("Mindflair" or the "Company")

 

Sure Ventures PLC - Investee Company Update

 

Mindflair plc (AIM: MFAI), the company investing in next generation technology
focused on AI, notes the announcement made by its investee company, Sure
Ventures PLC ("SV plc"), a London listed venture capital fund which invests in
early-stage software companies.  The announcement highlights the UK
Government's belief in the importance of being at the forefront of the AI
revolution, and that through its investment in the Sure Valley Ventures
("SVV") funds, how well the SV plc portfolio is positioned to benefit from
such government support.

 

Mindflair has a 23.6% shareholding in Sure Ventures and Sure Ventures has a
25.9% interest in Sure Valley Ventures ("SVV1"), in which Mindflair has a 13%
direct investment.  Mindflair and SV plc are also both invested in the SVV
Enterprise Fund ("SVV2") alongside the British Business Bank, each with a
circa 6% interest in this fund.

 

The full text of the announcement released by Sure Ventures is set out below.

 

"Sure Ventures is a London listed venture capital fund which invests in
early-stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality ('AR'), Virtual Reality ('VR')
and the Internet of Things ('IoT').

 

The UK Government has now released its AI Opportunities Action Plan. This was
presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and
Technology on the 13(th) of January 2025.

 

The action plan was clear and sets out to secure the UK's future with
homegrown AI. It also highlighted how quickly AI has advanced, in such a short
space of time. A small number of companies at the frontier of AI are set to
have a disproportionate amount of global influence. The statement went on to
say that the UK has a window of opportunity to secure and strengthen the
Countries global leadership in AI. This will help protect economic security
and help us be a part of the exponential growth of global AI.

 

The government is committed to building a cutting-edge, secure, and
sustainable AI infrastructure. It wants to take forward the recommendations to
expand its sovereign compute capacity. Computing needs could grow by at least
20x by 2030. This expansion is critical if the UK is to keep pace.

 

To seize this opportunity, the government will launch a new function with the
mandate to strengthen the UK's sovereign AI capabilities by supporting
national champions at the frontier of AI. The function will operate with
agility and draw on wider government functions to partner with AI companies.
Methods will include-:

 

·    Leveraging AI Growth Zones to support partnered companies and
ensuring that new compute capacity is utilised strategically.

·    Exploring making available high-potential data sets for partnered
companies, in coordination with the National Data Library.

·    Supporting top AI talent to relocate to the UK to work with UK-based
partnered companies.

·    Helping to build relationships between partnered AI companies and the
UK's national security community.

 

As the Action Plan sets out, the UK must maximise opportunities to crowd in
private sector investment and facilitate close government-industry
collaboration. The government will create AI Growth Zones (AIGZs), areas with
enhanced access to power and support for planning approvals, to accelerate the
build out of AI infrastructure on UK soil.

 

We believe that our Investment in the Sure Valley Ventures Enterprise Fund
(ECF), founded by Barry Downes and Brian Kinane, which is a British Business
Bank backed fund, sits right in the "sweet spot" of the Governments plan and
we would like to highlight several portfolio companies that can assist the
adoption and transformation of the UK's technological AI infrastructure:

Stylus (Learncycle Ltd)

 

Stylus delivers an AI-powered marking solution aimed at reducing teacher
workload and addressing the recruitment and retention crisis in education. By
automating the marking of paper-based assessments, Stylus significantly cuts
down the time teachers spend on grading. The platform provides detailed,
personalized feedback for students, enhancing their learning experience.
Teachers can easily scan completed assessments, which are then processed by
Stylus's AI to provide immediate feedback and follow-up questions,
streamlining the evaluation process and helping to alleviate teacher burnout.
This will provide much needed assistance and efficiency in a major UK
Government spending area.

Purple Transform Limited

Purple Transform provides a cutting-edge SaaS platform, SiYtE™, designed to
address data overload and enhance safety and security in large infrastructures
like rail networks. By leveraging advanced AI and machine vision, the platform
transforms existing cameras into smart sensors, delivering real-time alerts
and predictive analytics. It seamlessly integrates with current IoT sensors
and camera systems, optimizing operational efficiency and reducing costs for
organizations managing extensive sensor networks. This technology has the
potential to use AI to help revolutionise maintenance and drive efficiency
across the UK's ageing infrastructure.

Phinxt Robotics Ltd

 

Phinxt provides a decentralized edge computing software solution to automate
warehouses by enabling real-time synchronization between robots from various
OEMs, significantly enhancing automation efficiency. With 90% of warehouses
still manual due to the high costs and complexity of current robotic options,
Phinxt addresses this by offering a cloud platform that allows 10x simpler
robotic deployments with zero upfront costs. Their robot-agnostic system
ensures seamless integration and operation of diverse robots without
on-premise IT infrastructure, making it adaptable and affordable. Amidst
labour shortages and rising e-commerce demand, Phinxt enables autonomous robot
operation with high flexibility, allowing easy swapping of different robot
makes without software changes. For the UK Governments plan to work, its
technology like Phinxt Robotics that use advanced AI technologies, to allow
robots to communicate with each other, to revolutionise and drive efficiency
throughout both public and private sectors.

 

Director Gareth Burchell commented:

 

" The UK Governments AI Opportunities Action plan is a very positive
development for a number of the Investments made by Barry Downes and Brian
Kinane as founders of Sure Valley Ventures. AI technology is set to
revolutionise most Industries throughout the world and the UK is one of the
world's leaders in this space. The foundations laid and the support shown by
the UK Government today, will resonate and assist innovators and founders
across the nation for decades to come.

 

"Stylus has the AI technology to assist with administration/marking and allow
teachers to focus on personalised teaching for their pupils, whilst also
driving the cost savings and efficiencies the UK education system desperately
needs. Purple transform can assist the rail, ports and general transport
infrastructure across the UK to enhance safety, drive down costs and improve
its services. AI technology will be vital in the evolution of industries such
as robotics and Phinxt is a great example of that. The Uk Governments action
plan is welcomed and provides support at a critical time in this new industry
which is growing at a ferocious pace. The help can make a significance
difference to the economic relevance of the country for years to come."

 

 

The Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this
announcement. The person who arranged for the release of this information is
Nicholas Lee, a director of the Company.

 

Enquiries:

 

 Mindflair plc                Tel: +44 (0) 20 3368 8961

 Nicholas Lee, Director

 Joint broker                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0935

 Peterhouse Capital Limited   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0936

 Duncan Vasey/Lucy Williams

 Joint broker                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 6100

 Shard Capital Partners LLP

 Damon Heath

 

Notes to Editors

 

About Mindflair plc

 

Mindflair plc (AIM: MFAI) is an investment company providing investors with
access to a portfolio of next generation technology businesses focused on AI
with significant growth potential.

 

The Company is building an investment portfolio of high-tech businesses
focused on Artificial Intelligence, across such areas as Internet of Things,
Cyber Security, Machine Learning, Immersive Technologies and Big Data, which
the Board believes demonstrate evidence of traction and the potential for
exponential growth, due to increasing global demand for development in these
sectors.

 

For further information, visit: http://www.mindflair.tech/.

 

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