RunPilot, a start-up founded by University of Sheffield PhD researchers Joseph Hammond and Dr Thomas Cowley, has secured £140,000 in early-stage funding to develop its AI-powered infrastructure planning platform. The software automates the modelling and optimisation of infrastructure routes, weighing environmental, technical and societal factors to speed up planning and cut the risk of costly redesigns, a process the founders say is currently slow and high-risk. The funding win matters because it supports a wider push, including a UK government goal, to dramatically shorten the time it takes to build major electricity transmission infrastructure.

The investment was secured through a pitch to the University of Sheffield's board, with backing also coming via strategic advisor Peter Evans, chief executive of Orderly, and support from brand specialist The Engine Room. RunPilot has been selected for the US-based Joules Accelerator, a programme for advanced grid technologies, becoming only the fourth British firm ever chosen. The company plans to use the funding for further product development, technical recruitment, a new sales director appointment, and commercial expansion, and is exploring workspace in Sheffield's Innovation Spine district. Hammond described the platform's ambition as becoming the "second brain" for infrastructure planning, with the government aiming to cut electricity transmission build times from 14 years to seven.