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CBIT Venture Builder

Making people and ventures AI‑native.

Part of CBIT, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University

Four signatories seated at the MoU signing table, with the ceremony details and the date, 21 April 2026, on the screen behind them
Signing the memorandum of understanding between Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) and Nottingham Trent University, 21 April 2026
The CBIT Venture Builder team on stage with the Technology Innovation Champion of the Year trophy and the winner announcement on screen
CBIT Venture Builder — Technology Innovation Champion, 2024

  • Thailand

    A national AI and entrepreneurship programme funded by Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) and delivered by CBIT and CMU STeP, founding sister centres under a five-year MoU.

  • AI for SME Conference

    The annual AI for SME Conference, hosted by CBIT and supported by Innovate UK. ai4smes.co.uk

Sister centres

Sister centres and long-term partnerships

World map marking CBIT's three sites: Nottingham in the UK, Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Shanghai in China.
  • Nottingham, UK — CBIT, Nottingham Business School
  • Chiang Mai, Thailand — CMU STeP, a founding sister centre
  • Shanghai, China — Fudan University School of Management, a sister centre

Every service, AI-empowered

Every CBIT service is AI-empowered, so the people and ventures we work with become AI-native.

  • STEAM Founder is an AI-first route from research to venture: in STEAMfndr, matching with market opportunities is done by AI.
  • In ImpactTracker, impact is tracked and analysed by AI agents.
  • TNDRX: AI profiles a company’s capabilities and matches them to live tender opportunities, so smaller firms can bid together.

AI at CBIT: the positioning statement, what AI-native means, and the track record

Impact

All case studies · Programme impact

  • CBIT Venture Builder

    A UK air-purifier maker grew with the Venture Builder, then joined a funded project in Thailand

    In a testimonial, Healthy Air says the support “enabled us to enter four new countries”.

    The CBIT Venture Builder

  • Competence mapping

    No UK company made train toilets, so a cluster of Midlands firms built them together and won a Network Rail tender

    Read the case

  • KTPs and research collaborations

    A wealth manager cut meeting preparation by 70% with a behavioural AI built with CBIT

    Read the case

Start small

Book a keynote or masterclass

A keynote by Professor Xiao Ma, or a masterclass for leaders, teams or researchers, drawing on CBIT’s programmes: AI-powered business transformation, venture building, research commercialisation and interdisciplinary research.

Email us about a keynote or masterclass

Keynotes and masterclasses

Next event: Nottingham Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 2026. News and events

Professor Xiao Ma

60+

keynotes since 2023

Source: CBIT figures registry v1.8 (1 October 2026). Figures and sources

Work with CBIT

You contract with Nottingham Trent University (NTU). CBIT, the Centre for Business and Industry Transformation, is part of Nottingham Business School at NTU. NTU signs grants, contracts and agreements; CBIT delivers the work. The CBIT Venture Builder is CBIT’s programme for founders.

Start small: choose your door, or book a keynote or masterclass.

Email cbit@ntu.ac.uk

Tell us what you are working on.

Choose your door