The London startup is combining AI agents with physics-based design tools to automate circuit verification, challenging one of electronics engineering’s most time-consuming workflows.
London-based Circuit Mind has announced $25 million in financing to expand its artificial intelligence platform for designing and verifying electronic circuit boards, bringing its total funding to $33.4 million.
The October 28 announcement includes an $18.5 million Series A led by Norwest, alongside a previously undisclosed seed round led by Third Prime.
Existing investors Differential and Blackhorn participated in the Series A, together with Third Prime and new investor Lightscape VC. Norwest general partner Dave Zilberman will join Circuit Mind’s board.
The investment illustrates a shift in enterprise AI development: companies are moving beyond automating software code toward specialized engineering tasks where mistakes can result in expensive physical redesigns.
From Manual Circuit Design to AI-Assisted Engineering
Founded in 2018 by Tomide Adesanmi and Basilio Gentile, Circuit Mind develops technology that combines agentic AI with a physics-based decision engine and machine-readable electronic component models.
Adesanmi, the company’s chief executive, previously worked on helmet-mounted display systems for fighter pilots at BAE Systems. Gentile, its chief technology officer, brought expertise in mathematical modeling and optimization after completing a doctorate at ETH Zurich.
According to Norwest’s investment analysis, electronics engineering still involves extensive manual work, including component selection, reviewing technical datasheets and validating electrical configurations.
Circuit Mind’s platform incorporates organizational design rules, approved components and engineering requirements into its automated processes.
Its ACE application converts hardware block diagrams into schematics, component lists and engineering analyses, generating alternatives based on cost, size, power consumption and component availability.
New AI Agents Check Designs Before Manufacturing
Alongside the financing, Circuit Mind introduced the Agentic Verification Engine (AVE), which uses AI agents to inspect circuit schematics against component datasheets and organizational design requirements.
The new verification tool aims to identify mistakes before boards are manufactured, potentially reducing costly production revisions.
Circuit Mind said engineering teams at Emerson and Schneider Electric are already using its technology.
The company reported reductions in design time from months to weeks and component costs by 25%. Schneider Electric executive Daniel Gheno said early evaluations indicated the potential to reduce architecture exploration effort by more than 90%.
These are company-reported and early evaluation results, rather than independently established performance across the electronics industry.
Europe’s Opportunity in Specialized Industrial AI
Unlike general-purpose AI coding assistants, Circuit Mind’s approach incorporates electrical constraints and company-specific engineering knowledge.
That specialization matters because an apparently plausible circuit design must still satisfy physical requirements, component compatibility and manufacturing limitations.
The company plans to use its funding to expand its platform, recruit engineering and commercial staff, and establish a US headquarters.
For European technology startups, the development highlights an opportunity to compete in industrial AI through specialized expertise rather than frontier language models.
For hardware engineers and investors, the important question is whether these tools can reduce costly redesigns consistently while preserving engineering accountability.
Circuit Mind’s investment suggests the next important AI developer tools may be built for engineers working with physical systems, not just software.
