Grant Selection Policy

NEXUM ANALYTICS LTD · Version 1.0 · Effective 7 October 2026

1. Purpose, scope and funding

1.1 This policy sets out how NEXUM ANALYTICS LTD (company number 17440513, registered office 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA, United Kingdom; "Nexum" or "the house") selects recipients of its grants and governs each grant from award to completion.

1.2 It applies to every grant cycle, every member of the grants committee, every examining analyst who takes part in a grant decision, and every recipient.

1.3 Grants are funded solely from Nexum's own funds. No third party contributes to a grant pot, and no grant is made on behalf of anyone else.

1.4 A grant is a discretionary payment for a stated purpose. It is not repayable, except where an award rests on a material misrepresentation, or grant funds are misapplied or left unspent when the Grant Agreement ends, as the Grant Agreement provides. It gives Nexum no shares, equity, debt, revenue share, return or other interest in the recipient, and it is not an investment, a loan or a security.

1.5 Members of the Founding Faculty have no role in any grant decision, ranking or payment. Grants are kept separate from the house's introduction service.

1.6 This policy works with Nexum's internal AML, Fraud and Sanctions Policy, the Grants section of the nexum.fund Terms, and the Grant Agreement signed with each recipient. Where they differ for a particular grant, the signed Grant Agreement prevails.

2. Cycles and eligibility

2.1 Grants are considered in cycles. Cycle 1, the founding cycle, opens on 7 October 2026 and closes on the date published at nexum.fund/grants. Each later cycle runs for 90 days and opens the day after the previous cycle closes.

2.2 For each cycle, Nexum publishes at opening the pot and the amount range for a single grant, together with any amount carried from the previous cycle. Grants are awarded within that range until the pot is used or no further record meets the standard. A cycle runs on the terms published when it opened.

2.3 A company that has opted in under 2.4 is considered in the cycle in which its examination is delivered. Cycle 1 considers the fifteen paid founding examinations and any founding examination whose fee was waived, which does not take a founding place. A founding examination delivered after Cycle 1 closes, and any other examination delivered while Cycle 1 is open, is considered in Cycle 2.

2.4 A founder opts in on the Nexum platform at any time from filing the examination until its delivery cycle closes; a founder who opts in after that is considered in the next cycle. Opting in confirms that the company is a registered legal entity with a business account in its own name, that it is not connected with a comprehensively sanctioned jurisdiction or owned or controlled by a designated person, that no member of the grants committee or close relation of one holds an interest in it, and that the founder accepts this policy. Opting in carries no fee, and the examination service level paid for has no bearing on any grant decision.

2.5 The following are not considered: a record whose examination fee was refunded; an examination the house declined; a record withdrawn by its founder; a test record; and a company in which a member of the grants committee, or a close relation of one, holds an interest.

2.6 A grant can be paid only to a registered legal entity that holds a business account in its own name and passes the checks in the AML, Fraud and Sanctions Policy. Companies connected with a comprehensively sanctioned jurisdiction, or owned or controlled by a designated person, cannot receive a grant.

3. Selection

3.1 The grants committee. Grant decisions are made by a committee of two members appointed by Nexum's board of directors. Their names, and any substitute appointed under 4.6, are kept in the committee register.

3.2 Process. Within 7 days of a cycle's close, the committee shortlists from the considered records. Shortlisted founders have 7 days to submit a grant plan of no more than one page, stating the amount sought within the published range, the use of funds, and two or three milestones with the evidence that will prove each. The committee decides within 14 days of the cycle's close.

3.3 Criteria. Selection is competitive and rests on the delivered examination. The committee weighs:

• the strength and verifiability of the evidence in the record;
• the decision the examination served, and what the founder has done since;
• what the grant would make possible that would otherwise not happen, or happen much later;
• whether the grant plan's milestones are concrete, proportionate and verifiable;
• the integrity of the record, including the founder's candour on weaknesses the examination found.

3.4 Outcomes. Each shortlisted record is Awarded, Deferred to the next cycle (reconsidered there without a new examination), or Declined. A considered record that is not shortlisted is Declined for that cycle.

3.5 The pot. The committee intends to award each cycle's published pot to records that meet its standard. Any amount not awarded carries into the next cycle and is published at nexum.fund/grants. No company is entitled to a grant, and the committee does not award a grant to make up the pot.

3.6 Decisions and documentation. An award requires the agreement of both committee members, each recorded from their own account. Every decision, positive or negative, carries a written rationale kept with the record. Decisions are final and are not subject to appeal; the house may give the founder a short summary of its reasons.

4. Award, tranches, conflicts and review

4.1 Agreement and verification. An award takes effect only when the recipient signs Nexum's Grant Agreement and passes the checks in the AML, Fraud and Sanctions Policy. An award lapses if either is not completed within 30 days of the decision, unless the committee extends the period in writing.

4.2 Tranches. Each grant is paid in two or three tranches over a term of up to 9 months. The first tranche is paid on signature and verification. Each later tranche is released against milestone evidence accepted by an examining analyst of the house; the final tranche is released only on verified completion.

4.3 Evidence. Milestone evidence is filed on the Nexum platform and timestamped there, so that every release rests on a dated record.

4.4 Use of funds. Recipients apply grant funds only to the purpose stated in the Grant Agreement. Nexum may ask how a released tranche was applied before releasing the next.

4.5 Withholding and cancellation. Nexum withholds further tranches where evidence is insufficient, where the stated purpose is no longer served, or where misuse is suspected. Where funds are misapplied, or an award rests on a material misrepresentation, Nexum may cancel the grant and require repayment of the amounts concerned. Funds left unspent when the Grant Agreement ends are returned to Nexum.

4.6 Conflicts of interest. A committee member or analyst with a personal, financial or professional tie to a founder or company declares it and recuses from that record; the recusal is logged. The board then appoints a substitute committee member for that record from among the house's examining analysts who have not worked on it. Grants to related parties, and any circular or collusive arrangement, are prohibited.

4.7 Publication. Nexum names a recipient publicly only with the recipient's consent, and may publish aggregate figures for each cycle.

4.8 Review. The board reviews this policy after each cycle closes and on any material change to Nexum's model or to applicable law. Each review is recorded with its date and outcome.