Applied AI engineering · London
Custom AI systems for mid-market, PE-backed and enterprise organisations — Barnacle Labs, London
We turn your most ambitious AI ideas into working systems, in weeks, in our AI software factory.
Start with a one-day workshop, from £5,000 + VAT.
Est. 2022 · Founded by the former European CTO of IBM Watson
Our work
100,000 emails a year eliminated at iQ Student Accommodation.
Choose a client to read the case study.
Wimbledon: read the case study
BT: read the case study
National Cancer Institute: read the case study
iQ Student Accommodation: read the case study
Google: read the case study
Circler: read the case study
Vespa Capital: read the case study
Genomics: read the case study
Acacium Group: read the case study
Channel 4: read the case study
Phoenix Group: read the case study
Who we build for
Mid-market and PE-backed
You need results this year, without building a large AI team. We deliver a working prototype in two weeks, with running costs engineered in from the start.
Enterprise
You have pilots that never reached production, and a security review to pass. We build in your cloud, and every change is security-scanned and approved by an engineer before release.
“…they treated the work like a collaboration… if you are looking for a partner in AI, I couldn't recommend them more.”
How we deliver breakthroughs
Startup pace.Full control.
The pace of building software has changed. At Google, 75% of new code is now AI-generated and approved by engineers. Teams that still build every AI project by hand can't keep up. We've built an AI software factory that brings Toyota-style manufacturing automation and predictability to software development.
Source: Google, April 2026
One factory, two engines
Every system starts with its two hardest parts already built and proven: Pharos runs the process and Alexandria gives agents the right context. So we never start from scratch.
Inspired by the Toyota Production System
The AI factory
Agents build. Engineers decide.
Every change runs the same production line: agents plan, build, test and security-scan, and an engineer approves the plan and the result.
How the factory works →Named after the Lighthouse of Alexandria
Pharos
Workflow for agents and people
Agents, people and systems in one durable process, in your own database. No SaaS workflow platform to rent, and processes you change without touching code.
More on Pharos →Named after the Great Library of Alexandria
Alexandria
Gives agents the right context
Precise context means a smaller model can do the job: more accurate answers with sources, up to ten times cheaper to run, on models you can host yourself.
More on Alexandria →Prototype in two weeks. Costs known up front. Built to pass security. Yours to keep.
Made in our factory
Our own products,built in the factory.
We don't only build for clients. Whereas, Parlium and Barnacle Intel are products we own and run, each built on the same factory production line.
NEWRegulatory compliance
Whereas
Prove every obligation is met, in minutes.
BETAScientific research
Parlium
A thinking partner for scientists.
LIVEMarket and competitive intelligence
Barnacle Intel
Agents that read your market and brief you every day. See it live on AI news.
Your turn
What should webuild for you?
Three kinds of work run on the same production line:
- Build the breakthrough AI idea that never got past the pilot.
- Replace the expensive SaaS you rent, with systems you own.
- Modernise ageing systems, without a multi-year programme.
Who we are
Founders who were building production AI long before it was a buzzword. A full team of AI engineers behind them.
We've been building with modern AI for over a decade, from leading AI at IBM Watson to early GPT-3 access in 2020. Today our systems run in high-stakes settings: the US Federal Government, financial services, global enterprises and biotech.
Duncan Anderson
Former European CTO, IBM Watson
JD Wuarin
AI engineering. Columbia, St. Gallen
Research by the founders: guides on agentic AI, sovereign AI, agent memory and application security, and reviews of new papers. Read our research →
The AI Breakthrough Sprint
Find your AI breakthrough.
Not sure where to start? Start with a sprint, from £5,000 + VAT. If an AI idea won't pay off, you'll know by day 15.
Step 1 · One day
Discovery workshop
We uncover the hidden AI opportunities in your business and work out, with you, where to start: the one that's worth building first.
Step 2 · Two weeks
A working prototype in two weeks
Your idea goes onto the factory line for two weeks and comes off it as a working proof of concept your team can test, with a clear view of what production would take.
Now booking client slots on the factory line from January 2027.