AI engineering after the service.
Moonlabs is the operator-led AI Academy in Derby. We run three live companies — Homemove, home.co.uk and homedata.co.uk — and we teach twelve students per cohort to ship a real AI product, sell it to a real customer, and raise on it. Three pillars: Coding, Commercials, Investment. Twelve weeks. £6,000 — ELC and resettlement-budget-eligible.
Moonlabs is what we are. Two operators — James Freestone and Louis O’Connell-Bristow — who run Homemove, home.co.uk and homedata.co.uk, and have raised £5m+. Veterans and service leavers tend to do well in our cohorts because the Moonlabs way of working — structured weeks, ruthless prioritisation, finishing what you start — is closer to a Forces operating tempo than most civilian environments.
The Academy is what we do. A twelve-week, in-person, twelve-student cohort in Derby. You build a real AI product. You sign a paid pilot on it. You write a deck and a financial model. You leave with a deployed system, a paying customer reference and a live investor pipeline. Coding, Commercials, Investment — the three pillars taught in equal weight every week.
Why this page exists. Veterans and service leavers arrive at civilian career questions with qualities most recruits do not have — pressure operating, discipline, finishing what you start — and often a smaller civilian network and a stack of certificates that translate unevenly to the AI market. The Academy is the antidote: a deployed portfolio piece carries materially more weight on a Forces CV than any cert, the network is sticky, and we will write the ELC supporting letter. No-one leaves without options — senior AI roles, defence-AI founder seats, or the Moonlabs portfolio.
Coding · the AI engineering stack, not another cert
Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, agents, retrieval, evals, deploy. Forces transition is full of certificates; the Academy ships a deployed AI product on a real domain — the artefact a civilian hiring manager actually wants to see. A deployed AI product by week twelve.
Commercials · ELC-funded route into civilian AI roles
We help you scope an ELC claim, or advise honestly when resettlement grants, CTP or Apprenticeship Levy fits better. Pricing, the discovery call, a one-page pilot agreement, the first paying customer if the founder route appeals. A paid pilot by week six or a credible senior-AI-role offer by demo day — the network is the part veterans underestimate in advance.
Investment · the defence- and dual-use-AI founder route
Anduril ($14bn), Helsing (Europe’s defence-AI unicorn), Palantir (founded by veterans of US intel), Shield AI, Iceye, Faculty AI (UK MoD work), Modulos — veteran-founded and veteran-friendly AI is one of the fastest-growing thesis areas in UK/EU venture. Cap table, ten-slide deck, financial model. A live investor pipeline by demo day — with warm introductions where we have them.
Common questions.
Is the Academy formally CTP-accredited?
Not currently a CTP framework provider. Many veterans have funded the Academy through ELC and resettlement allowances directly; we are happy to write the supporting letter your funding application needs.
I am still serving, with a year before exit. When should I apply?
Apply in the final twelve to nine months. The Academy schedules summer cohorts deliberately around the academic / leaver calendar; we can usually slot a leaver into a cohort that aligns with exit timing.
I have not coded since school (or ever). Is this realistic?
Yes. We have taken zero-code students through to deployed product in twelve weeks. The discipline and habit of finishing the work matters more than any prior coding background.
Are there other veterans in the cohort?
Sometimes — we keep cohorts deliberately mixed (school leavers, graduates, career changers, founders, veterans). Several recent cohorts have included veterans; the mix helps both ways.
I am a partner of a service leaver. Does anything here apply?
Yes — partners of serving and recently-departed Forces personnel are eligible for some funding routes too (FFE, Forces Families etc). Talk to us early about your situation.
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.
Build it. Sell it. Raise on it. In twelve weeks.
Tell us where you are in your transition and what AI product you would build. James and Louis read every application personally and reply inside the week — ELC funding case included.
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