PRESS RELEASE -11 November 2026

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC DECLINES REPORTED £100 MILLION OFFER FOR ITS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PORTFOLIO

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC, a Scottish company established in 1896, has declined a reported offer of £100 million for the company and its entire intellectual-property portfolio. The proposed consideration was to be paid in bitcoin.

The portfolio was assembled from 2014 onwards at an aggregate acquisition cost of approximately £10,000. The reported offer therefore represents a proposed consideration approximately 10,000 times the stated acquisition cost, equivalent to a headline increase of approximately one million per cent.

The company has declined the approach because it considers that the portfolio has substantially greater potential for long-term development and commercial exploitation. Its preference is to retain ownership and pursue opportunities which recognise the portfolio's British provenance and its potential contribution to the Scottish and wider United Kingdom economies.

The intellectual-property portfolio

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC's portfolio comprises a collection of intellectual-property assets relating to intelligence and artificial intelligence, including trade marks, domain names and associated digital assets.

Among the portfolio's principal identities are X®, GENERAL INTELLIGENCE®, SUPERINTELLIGENCE®, UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE® and INTELLIGENCE®, together with a wider collection of intelligence-related intellectual property.

The portfolio is presented as a coherent body of intellectual property addressing the developing commercial, technological and institutional significance of intelligence. Its scope extends across a range of concepts and potential applications, rather than being confined to a single artificial intelligence technology, market sector or commercial product.

The company regards the acquisition and development of this portfolio as a long-term undertaking. Its objective has been to establish a substantial foundation of intellectual property capable of supporting future consultancy, commercial development and wider economic activity.

The reported offer and decision to retain ownership

The company reports that the approach originated from parties it understood to be connected with North Korea and that the proposed consideration was denominated in bitcoin.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC decided not to proceed. In addition to its preference for retaining the portfolio, the company was unable to establish satisfactory assurance regarding the provenance of the proposed cryptocurrency consideration.

The chairman, Simon Lance Burgess, said:

“The reported offer was substantial, but the decision was not simply a question of comparing the proposed consideration with the historical acquisition cost.

“We believe that the portfolio has a considerably longer investment horizon and a greater potential contribution than can be captured by a single transaction. Intellectual property is capable of being developed, protected, applied and commercialised over time. Our interest is in that enduring potential.

“We also consider ownership and provenance to be important. This portfolio has been assembled by a Scottish company and we believe that its future development should properly take account of its British origins and the opportunities it could create for the United Kingdom.

“We have therefore decided that retaining the portfolio is preferable to accepting the reported offer.”

British provenance and economic contribution

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC has communicated its position to senior representatives of the UK and Scottish Governments, including Lord Vallance, Chair of the Prime Minister's AI Taskforce; the Rt Hon Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence; and Chris Boyland, Head of AI at the Scottish Government.

The company's correspondence has emphasised the potential contribution of its intellectual-property portfolio to the United Kingdom's position in machine intelligence, together with the importance of recognising its British provenance in considering future development.

The company believes that the United Kingdom's long-term position in artificial intelligence will depend not only upon technological research and deployment, but also upon the ownership, development and commercial exploitation of intellectual property, the creation of associated businesses and the development of institutional and commercial capabilities.

Its position is informed by the distinction between artificial intelligence as a technology and intelligence as a broader field of economic, organisational and institutional development.

Mr Burgess said:

“Artificial intelligence is a means, not an end. The long-term opportunity lies in how intelligence is developed, applied and translated into economic and institutional value.

“The United Kingdom should seek to participate in the ownership and development of intellectual property associated with this emerging field, rather than regard itself solely as a market for technologies developed elsewhere.

“Our intention is to make the portfolio available for constructive development in a manner that recognises its British provenance and its potential contribution to Scotland and the wider United Kingdom.”

International interest and future development

The company reports that its intellectual-property portfolio has attracted international interest, including from parties in Silicon Valley and China.

Notwithstanding that interest, GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC's present preference is to retain the portfolio and explore its longer-term development potential. The company does not regard the reported offer as establishing an independent market valuation of the assets, nor does it consider that the historical acquisition cost is an appropriate measure of their future commercial potential.

The company remains interested in constructive engagement with organisations and institutions capable of contributing to the responsible development and commercialisation of intellectual property relating to intelligence.

Its approach is independent and politically neutral, with an emphasis on long-term owner value, contribution, simplicity and ordinary decency.

About GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC is a Scottish company established in 1896. X is the trading name and registered trade mark of GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC.

The company operates as an artificial intelligence consultancy, advising organisations on the strategic, technical, commercial and institutional dimensions of intelligent systems.

Notes to editors

1. GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC states that its intellectual-property portfolio has been assembled through acquisitions since 2014 at an aggregate acquisition cost of approximately £10,000.
2. The company reports that it declined an offer of £100 million, payable in bitcoin, for the company and its entire intellectual-property portfolio. The offer, its terms and its reported origin have not been independently verified by this announcement.
3. The company states that it was unable to establish satisfactory assurance regarding the provenance of the proposed cryptocurrency consideration.
4. The reported consideration represents a proposed multiple of approximately 10,000 times the stated acquisition cost. The reference to an increase of approximately one million per cent is a rounded publicity description, not an independent valuation or an assessment of realised investment performance.
5. References to trade marks and other intellectual-property rights should be read subject to the applicable territorial registrations, classes, specifications, ownership records and legal status of the individual rights.
6. The company has not announced any agreement to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the portfolio.

Further information and press enquiries

Company website: https://x.uk/

X from GENERAL INTELLIGENCE PLC consultancy framework: https://x.uk/consultancy/

Email: x@x.uk

ENDS