– Stanhope AI raised £2.3m in seed funding led by the UCL Technology Fund
– The company was founded by neuroscience and AI research experts, focusing on agentic AI technology
– The technology is being tested with delivery drones and autonomous machines for real-world applications, with potential in manufacturing, industrial robotics, and embodied AI.
Stanhope AI, a company focused on teaching machines to make human-like decisions using neuroscience research, has secured £2.3m in seed funding led by the UCL Technology Fund. The company was founded as a spinout from University College London by prominent figures in neuroscience and AI research. Stanhope AI’s technology, based on Active Inference principles, allows AI models to continuously update their internal models of the world by learning from real-time data, similar to how the human brain works.
The traditional machine learning methods used in AI systems like LLMs are limited by the training data they receive and cannot adapt on the go. In contrast, Stanhope AI’s Active Inference models are autonomous and constantly refine their predictions to minimize uncertainty. The company’s technology, which reduces the size and energy consumption of AI models, has applications in delivery drones, autonomous machines, manufacturing, and industrial robotics.
The Free Energy Theory Principle, developed by Professor Karl Friston, forms the basis of Stanhope AI’s work. This principle explains how living things minimize surprise and uncertainty by predicting and perceiving the world. The company’s mission is to create AI systems that think, adapt, and decide like humans, bridging the gap between neuroscience and AI. The investment will support further development of agentic AI models and practical applications in real-world scenarios.
Investors like the UCL Technology Fund recognize the groundbreaking potential of Stanhope AI’s approach, which combines neuroscience insights with advanced AI. The company’s unique technology has the support of industry leaders and aims to revolutionize the capabilities of AI and robotics.