An AI consultant in Derby who actually ships.
James lives and works in Derby. Moonlabs is the operator-led AI consultancy from his desk and Louis’s, with Phil running delivery from Nottingham. Production AI for East Midlands businesses, on site most weeks.
Most AI consultants in Derby fly in for a workshop, fly out with a deck, and leave the build to someone else. We do not. James is based in Derby and on site most weeks, Phil runs delivery from Nottingham, and Louis adds the technical architecture from Norwich. The same people diagnose, build and operate the system.
We have spent the last three years rebuilding our own companies around AI — Homemove, home.co.uk and homedata.co.uk — from the Derby office. We bring that stack and that way of working to Derby businesses that want the same shift.
Easy reach from the Derby base across the East Midlands: Nottingham, Leicester, Burton, Loughborough; further out to Sheffield, Birmingham and the wider Midlands. Monthly retainer plus transparent hourly delivery; most engagements pay back inside the first quarter.
In Derby, not flying in
James is in Derby most weeks — on site at your office, at a coffee in the Cathedral Quarter, or in the Moonlabs space. Phil in Nottingham is thirty minutes away. The whole engagement runs in the room when you need it to.
Build, not advise
We do not leave a Derby workshop and a deck behind. We diagnose with your team, design the systems, build them on your stack, deploy into your environment, and hand over the runbook.
First-quarter pay-back
We start with the workflow that pays back fastest. Most clients save more in the first quarter than the whole engagement costs — and the second workflow compounds on the first.
Common questions.
Why a Derby-based AI consultant rather than London?
Because the work happens in the room. Derby AI consultants who travel from London bill the train, the hotel and the half-day they lost. We are already here. The first diagnostic is almost always in person — operators tell the truth at the desk that they will not put in an email.
Do you only work with Derby businesses?
No. Derby is the East Midlands base. We also run delivery from Nottingham (Phil), Norwich (Louis) and London (Shivam). Easy on-site reach from Derby to Nottingham, Leicester, Burton, Loughborough, Sheffield and Birmingham; further afield via Phil’s national travel.
What kinds of Derby businesses do you take on?
Owner-managed SMBs, scale-ups and mid-market firms with revenue and a real operating model. Property, professional services, finance, recruitment, legal and ops-heavy industries are the natural fit. The Midlands manufacturing base is well-suited too.
How is this different from a Derby AI agency?
Most Derby AI agencies are marketing-led automation shops — chatbots, content tooling, simple integrations. That is good work but it is not what we do. We are senior engineers building production AI into the systems your business actually runs on. Two different shapes of help.
What does AI consulting in Derby cost?
A monthly retainer reserves capacity and covers planning and oversight; delivery hours are billed transparently on top. Rate quoted on the first call once we have seen the shape of the work. Most engagements pay back inside the first quarter.
The full Forward Deployment offer
How engagements work: diagnose, build, operate. The detailed page covers engagement structure, pricing and the four UK bases.
About James, Louis, Phil & Shivam
The operators behind the work. £5m+ raised for their own companies, ~£10m across their broader career, AI-native since the week ChatGPT shipped.
More Academy entry points.
The Academy is one course with many doors. Each of these pages is a different entry point into the same twelve weeks.
AI consultancy from Derby, on site most weeks.
Tell us where AI could move the most value in your Derby or East Midlands business. If we’re a fit, we’ll come back inside the week with a build plan.
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