Luffy AI raises £8.1M for self-tuning AI that controls electric motors

Luffy AI, a British startup based in Abingdon, has raised £8.1 million in a Series A round to develop what it calls "neuroplastic" AI for controlling physical machines in real time. The company announced the close of the round on Tuesday.

What Luffy AI is building

Luffy AI presents itself as a developer of self-tuning ("neuroplastic") AI embedded in electric motors around the world to control them in real time. The idea is that the system adapts to the behavior of a specific motor and its operating conditions without manual retuning, improving the efficiency and precision of control of physical equipment directly on site.

• Series A round size: £8.1 million
• Company headquarters: Abingdon, UK
• Round led by BGF
• The deal was announced on Tuesday

Who invested in the round

BGF, which calls itself the most active equity investor in the UK and Ireland, led the round. That an investor like this is backing a project focused on industrial hardware automation rather than software AI products points to growing capital interest in applied AI that controls physical devices directly, not just AI that processes data and generates text.

What this means

The Luffy AI deal shows investors are increasingly funding not only generative models and chatbots but also applied AI for industrial equipment. Electric motors are used almost everywhere, from household appliances to heavy industry, and even a small improvement in how efficiently they are controlled through self-tuning algorithms could have a broad economic effect.