Cambridge- and Coventry-based tech company Monumo, which uses a combination of deep-tech AI and traditional engineering expertise to redesign electric drive units, has been awarded nearly £1million in funding from Innovate UK.
Monumo will use its 3D Generative-AI Technology (3D-GAIT) to automate design generation, simulation and evaluation. Working in collaboration with electric motor research specialists from the University of Nottingham’s Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) Research Group, and global drive train experts Hofer Powertrain, Monumo says that this technology will meet a crucial market need for motor design optimisation.
Monumo will use the grant to accelerate progress in the industry, building on its proprietary technology, which already creates motor designs 200 times faster than the industry standard. With tightly integrated and constantly updating AI algorithms influencing the motor system simulation pipeline, this continuous co-design will inform the requirements of both components of the AI tool and the simulator. 3D-GAIT will enable better balance between simulation speed and accuracy, and provide designers with optimal electric drive concepts within days rather than the usual months. According to Monumo, this technology has the potential to radically improve productivity for OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and their design teams by unlocking design freedoms within the electric drive previously untapped by traditional development methods.
Monumo recently closed a £10.5million seed funding round from angel investors. Being based in Cambridge and Coventry, the company benefits from the skills and knowledge of both a deep-tech hub and a traditional engineering hub respectively. The company’s 28-strong team, which covers a range of disciplines, such as automotive engineers, data scientists, physicists deep-tech experts, and entrepreneurs, is currently focused on the electric vehicle (EV) market.
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‘To be recognised by a national innovation agency is a testament to the team’s hard work and dedication to applying the latest deep-tech methods to the redesign of electric drives,’ said Dominic Vergine, Monumo’s CEO and founder. ‘Driven by a desire to move the needle on decarbonisation, our technology has numerous applications, but we are focused on the EV market initially, seeking to drive wider adoption through optimisation. We are intent on helping build a more sustainable future and this funding from Innovate UK will help us get there faster.’