---
title: "(NU/1433-32) mignon.ai: Commercialisation of university research through provision of management skills to assist in successful spin-out company creation"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-034fba"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-034fba"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-034fba.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-034fba.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY"
published: "2022-07-08"
---

# (NU/1433-32) mignon.ai: Commercialisation of university research through provision of management skills to assist in successful spin-out company creation

Buyer: NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-034fba

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## Summary

The procurement process titled "(NU/1433-32) mignon.ai: Commercialisation of university research through provision of management skills to assist in successful spin-out company creation" is being conducted by Newcastle University, located in Newcastle, UK. This project falls under the industry category of business and management consultancy services. The procurement method is selective, following a restricted procedure. The award of the contract is currently active, and it has a signed value of £29,040. The procurement is at the award stage, having reached completion as of 8 July 2022.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in technology management, business consultancy, and venture capital funding. Companies with expertise in creating business plans for spin-out companies, particularly in the semiconductor or artificial intelligence sectors, would be well-suited to compete. The focus is on advancing a university-developed microchip technology into a market-ready product, which indicates a strong demand for innovative management and financial solutions within the tech startup ecosystem.

## Notice

Newcastle University have developed a novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) microchip architecture which is uniquely underpinned by logic-based AI. The microchip named mignon was fabricated in early 2021 and this work was led by Dr Rishad Shafik and Professor Alex Yakovlev of the Microsystems Group, School of Engineering at Newcastle University. The aim is to create a Fabless IP based spin-out company mignon.ai which will market and sell the design of customised hardware devices and semiconductor electronics systems all based on the mignon microchip. The company mignon.ai will develop and design the microchips and supply codes to clients to enable the synthesising of microchip, where all manufacturing of hardware will be outsourced. The team requires an experienced and appropriate business executive to progress this opportunity. The initial brief of the executive will be to: (1) Produce a viable 5 year business plan; (2) Obtain university approval for the venture; (3) a. Act for the company in the spin-out legal process and address all company formation matters; b. Obtain founder academics' and Newcastle University (including the Head of Company Creation) approval for appointment as CEO. c. Provide to the appropriate university all matters necessary for Research England reporting requirements; (4) Secure (venture capital and other) funding Stage (5) will produce the funds by which the new start-up company can consider employing the executive going forward. It is expected, and the intent of the scheme, that the Executive will remain with the business following the end of the contract period. However, such appointment will be at the discretion of the board and appropriate university and will be subject to confirmation, typically at Stage 4 above.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Newcastle University have developed a novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) microchip architecture which is uniquely underpinned by logic-based AI. The microchip named mignon was fabricated in early 2021 and this work was led by Dr Rishad Shafik and Professor Alex Yakovlev of the Microsystems Group, School of Engineering at Newcastle University. The aim is to create a Fabless IP based spin-out company mignon.ai which will market and sell the design of customised hardware devices and semiconductor electronics systems all based on the mignon microchip. The company mignon.ai will develop and design the microchips and supply codes to clients to enable the synthesising of microchip, where all manufacturing of hardware will be outsourced. The team requires an experienced and appropriate business executive to progress this opportunity. The initial brief of the executive will be to: (1) Produce a viable 5 year business plan; (2) Obtain university approval for the venture; (3) a. Act for the company in the spin-out legal process and address all company formation matters; b. Obtain founder academics' and Newcastle University (including the Head of Company Creation) approval for appointment as CEO. c. Provide to the appropriate university all matters necessary for Research England reporting requirements; (4) Secure (venture capital and other) funding Stage (5) will produce the funds by which the new start-up company can consider employing the executive going forward. It is expected, and the intent of the scheme, that the Executive will remain with the business following the end of the contract period. However, such appointment will be at the discretion of the board and appropriate university and will be subject to confirmation, typically at Stage 4 above.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018706-2022 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Dynamic |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Restricted procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jul 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Jul 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £29,040 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY |
| Additional buyers | DURHAM UNIVERSITY; EUROPEAN UNION; NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY NEWCASTLE; TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY; UNIVERSITY OF BATH ON BEHALF OF THE SETSQUARED; UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND |
| Locality | NEWCASTLE |
| Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE1 7RU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Electoral ward | Monument |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CAMBRIDGE FUTURE TECH |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services

## Release History

- 8 Jul 2022 at 09:01 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018706-2022

## Notice URLs

- https://Sunderland.ac.uk
- https://northumbria.ac.uk
- https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:016574-2019:TEXT:EN:HTML
- https://www.bath.ac.uk/
- https://www.durham.ac.uk
- https://www.ncl.ac.uk
- https://www.tees.ac.uk/

## Provenance

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