Literal Labs, a logic-based AI algorithm innovator led by former Arm VP Noel Hurley, secured £4.6M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Northern Gritstone, a Northern England-based investment firm focused on science and technology, and co-led by Mercuri, a London-based fund investing at the intersection of media, entertainment, and technology. Additional participation came from Sure Valley Ventures, Cambridge Future Tech SPV, and several angel investors.
Literal Labs develops logic-based AI models offering significantly faster, more energy-efficient, and more explainable alternatives to traditional neural networks. This architecture draws inspiration from Mikhail Tsetlin, a mathematician and contemporary of John McCarthy, known for early neural network innovations.
Unlike neural networks, the Tsetlin machine is built on propositional logic. This foundation results in lower computational and energy demands and enables faster inferencing speeds.
Recent MLPerf Anomaly detection benchmarks revealed that Literal Labs delivered 54x faster inferencing and 52x lower energy consumption compared to classic machine learning techniques. The same tests showed 250x faster performance versus XGBoost for similar applications.
The company emerged as a spinout from Newcastle University, co-founded by Dr. Alex Yakovlev and Dr. Rishad Shafik — both experts in logic-based AI — in collaboration with company builder Cambridge Future Tech. In 2023, Noel Hurley was appointed CEO after over two decades at Arm, where he led product marketing and oversaw the CPU division responsible for over 70% of Arm’s revenue, amounting to approximately $1 billion.
The funding will support engineering team growth and accelerate the launch of Literal Labs’ first commercial product, planned for release in 2025. Target customers include those seeking EdgeAI solutions to:
– Replace large, costly, and energy-intensive GPU-heavy algorithms
– Meet social or regulatory demands requiring explainable AI
– Improve AI efficiency in battery-powered devices
“We’re at a pivotal moment for AI with adoption continuing to accelerate alongside sustainability and cost concerns. Our logic-based AI offers a new solution for those that want and need high-performing AI that is faster, more energy efficient, and more explainable than what’s currently available via neural networks. This funding comes at a time when we’re ready to significantly speed up our product development and will enable us to bring our first product to market later this year,” said Noel Hurley, CEO of Literal Labs.
“Literal Labs is Northern Gritstone’s first investment linked to Newcastle University, renowned for its technology-related research. We are delighted to support Noel Hurley and the Literal Labs team at a time when innovation can truly benefit from greater efficiency in AI,” said Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone.
“We are excited to back Literal Labs as it redefines AI with a radically efficient alternative to existing neural networks. The team, combining deep research expertise and proven industry leadership, is uniquely positioned to commercialise this innovation,” said Esha Vatsa, Partner at Mercuri.