REG - Mindflair PLC - New investment in Astut Limited

MindflairAnnouncement

03/11/2025 08:45

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RNS Number : 8826F  Mindflair PLC  03 November 2025

3 November 2025

Mindflair plc

("Mindflair" or the "Company")

New investment in AI Military Decision AI Platform company Astut Limited

Mindflair plc, the company focused on investing in Artificial Intelligence
("AI") related technology, is pleased to note that Sure Valley Ventures'
("SVV") second fund ("SVV2"), in which Mindflair holds an interest, has
completed a new investment in Astut Limited ("Astut").

Astut is a hybrid AI company spun out from the University of Oxford's
mathematics department. The company, based at the Culham Science Centre in
Oxfordshire, has already engaged in pilot discussions with organisations in
defence and security (including the Ministry of Defence). The funding raised
will be used to expand its development team, enhance its hybrid AI platform
and establish key channel partnerships across multiple industries.

SVV3 co-led a £1.6 million seed funding round alongside East X Ventures, with
participation from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund ("UKI2S"),
managed by Future Planet Capital.

Founded in April 2025 by Professor Pete Grindrod CBE, Astut is
developing Hybrid AI technology that enables transparent and auditable
decision-making in high-stakes scenarios where no historical data exists.
These High Stakes Unseen Decisions arise in situations such as defence and
geo-political scenarios, where traditional AI models are unable to operate
effectively.

Astut's technology integrates symbolic reasoning with generative AI, creating
decision options that are logically consistent and explainable - a key
differentiator in a market increasingly concerned with the opacity of
AI-driven decisions.

Nicholas Lee, Director of Mindflair plc, commented:

"This investment in Astut reflects the continued focus on identifying and
supporting cutting-edge AI companies that are addressing some of the most
complex challenges in the sector. Astut's hybrid AI technology exemplifies the
kind of innovation that can redefine how organisations make mission-critical
decisions."

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

 Nominated Adviser                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

 Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

 Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti
 Joint Broker                        Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9950

 Shard Capital Partners LLP

 Damon Heath

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

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

 Duncan Vasey/Lucy Williams

 

Notes to Editors

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/.

Sure Valley Ventures (www.surevalleyventures.com) ("SVV") is a venture capital
firm that invests in early-stage AI software companies in the UK and Ireland.
Investing in AI since the firm's inception in 2017, SVV has a strong track
record of accelerating the growth of private AI companies through to Series A
and beyond. SVV3 is backed by enterprise Ireland, investing in cutting edge AI
software startups across Ireland.

 

Astut is an Oxford University spinout developing breakthrough Hybrid
AI technology that enables organisations to make reasoned, auditable
decisions in "never-before-seen" high-stakes situations where no historical
data exists. Founded in 2025 by Professor Pete Grindrod CBE, Astut's system
combines symbolic reasoning with generative AI to generate transparent,
logic-based decision options for sectors such as defence, energy, finance, and
strategy-delivering explainable, sovereign AI capabilities for the UK and
beyond.

 

 

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