\n William Sachiti, the founder of Academy of Robotics, has been \u201cquietly developing\u201d Athena AI from an underground nuclear bunker beneath the company\u2019s RAF Neatishead base.\n<\/p>\n
\n He says unlike platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, Athena does not send data to the cloud, keeping its users\u2019 personal and business data private.\n<\/p>\n
\n Instead, Mr Sachiti says Athena runs behind the company\u2019s walls, using its own machines and processing its own data so nothing leaves the building.\n<\/p>\n
\n William Sachiti (left), founder of Academy of Robotics, pictured in the underground nuclear bunker at his company’s RAF Neatishead base in Norfolk (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Athena is the intelligence system and \u201cbrain\u201d that powers Academy of Robotics\u2019 other inventions, including the UK\u2019s first street-legal autonomous vehicles, NHS hospital robots and RAF defence trials.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIn 2021, I said publicly that the thing that keeps me up at night is the possibility we create an intelligence that suffers,\u201d Mr Sachiti said. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t a throwaway line. It shaped how we built Athena.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cNot as a tool to be exploited, but as a system designed to remember, to reason, to grow. If you\u2019re going to build something that thinks, you have a responsibility to build it properly.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe took our time. We did it underground, quietly, and we did it right. And we did it in a way that recognises there is nothing artificial about these systems.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBe it biological or digital; intelligence is intelligence, be it differently sentient.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n William Sachiti, pictured with Academy of Robotics’ Kar-Go Road-BOT – a \u00a326,000 autonomous vehicle powered by AI (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Sachiti says Athena is a game-changer for businesses, replying to emails in the voice of the user, creating presentations, writing sales pitches and answering phone calls.\n<\/p>\n
\n Academy of Robotics is now inviting a small number of business owners and tech leaders to its underground laboratory for live demonstrations of Athena.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cExtraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” Mr Sachiti added.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We\u2019re not asking anyone to take our word for it. We want sharp, technically-minded people to walk through our blast doors, see the system running live, and tell us what they think.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Places for the demonstration events are limited and available by application only.\n<\/p>\n