UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1.6 million for the development of Proof of Concept demonstrators of AI technologies with state of the art performance. This is to support the UK’s AI sovereignty objectives.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest a minimum of £1.6 million. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation and is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.
We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.
These projects will be to validate highly scalable proof of concept stage AI technologies that will support the UK’s AI sovereignty objectives. Your project can deliver and validate the performance of novel architectures or subsystem components, utilising computer simulation or synthetic data when full system capability cannot be achieved within the project delivery.
The aim of this competition is to demonstrate Proof of Concept of AI technologies with state of the art performance in areas of strategic importance to UK. This will ensure that frontier AI technologies are developed in the UK, safeguarding UK’s future economic growth and security and geostrategic influence.
Your proposal must deliver one or more of the following:
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly, but we are still unable to fund it.
Our experience from similar competitions suggests that you could have 25% chance of success.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government, or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Grant
Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £50,000 and £120,000.
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.
We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.
You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Your project
Your project must:
Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.
If your project’s total costs falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.
If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.
Lead organisation
To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
You cannot use subcontractors from overseas.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.
Subcontracting costs are limited to 20% of total project costs.
Number of applications
A business can only lead on one application.
Sanctions
This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
Use of animals in research and innovation
Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.
Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.
You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
We will not award you funding if you have:
Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.
This competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.
The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780.
This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.
EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.
In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.
Further Information
If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.
You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.
This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.
A minimum of £1.6 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.
If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
Choose the applicable categories below for the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme:
Category 1 Feasibility studies
Funding available for your eligible project costs of:
Category 2 Industrial research projects
Funding available for your eligible project costs of:
For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.
If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.
Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.
The aim of this competition is to demonstrate Proof of Concept of AI technologies with state of the art performance in areas of strategic importance to UK. This will ensure that frontier AI technologies are developed in the UK, safeguarding UK’s future economic growth and security and geostrategic influence.
Your technology must have in principle the ability to scale at pace, but you are not required to prove or validate scalability. We are expecting projects to deliver technologies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to 5.
Your project must demonstrate the ability of your technology to work in principle. You can focus in demonstrating at least the key critical component and you can utilise synthetic and simulated data for validation. You need to demonstrate how you will achieve state of the art performance if capability already exists, or new to the world capability if the technology is further developed.
Your proposal must deliver one or more of the following:
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities, research categories and themes. We call this a portfolio approach.
Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
Fundamental AI research:
AI for materials discovery of:
This list is not intended to be exhaustive
AI for biosciences and health:
AI for defence and national security:
AI aided design for:
We will fund feasibility projects and industrial research projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.
We are not funding projects that:
We cannot fund projects that are:
11 August 2025 Competition opens
15 August 2025 Online briefing event: watch the recording.
Briefing slides are now available to download from Supporting Information.
10 September 2025 11:00am Competition closes
14 October 2025 Applicants notified
1 January 2026 Project start by
Text update 19 March 2025: We have added additional content to the project details section in regards how data will be used.
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
What we ask you
The application is split into four sections:
Accessibility and Inclusion
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.
We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.
You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
This section provides background for your application and is not scored.
Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.
Application team
Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application.
Application details
Give your project’s title, start date and duration.
Research category
Select the type of research you will undertake.
Project summary
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Public description
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Scope
Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 5. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.
You must answer all questions.
You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. If you do, your application will be made ineligible.
Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and subcontractors working on your project.
We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
Your answer can be up to 100 words long.
Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?
You must select one option:
We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.
Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.
Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?
We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.
You must select one option:
Question 4. International Collaboration (not scored)
Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?
You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.
If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.
Your answer can be up to 100 words long.
Question 5. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)
You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:
If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.
We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 6. Need or challenge
What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 7. Approach and innovation
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 800 words long.
You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to four A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 8. Team and resources
Who is in the project team and what are their roles?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 9. Market awareness and business model scalability
What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?
Describe:
If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 10. Outcomes and route to market
How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project?
Explain:
If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 11. Wider impacts
What impact might this project have outside the project team?
Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:
Describe and, where possible, measure:
Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 12. Project management
How will you manage your project effectively?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 13. Risks
What are the main risks for this project?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 14. Added value
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on your organisation?
Explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 15. Costs and value for money
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?
In terms of your project goals, explain:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must complete your own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.
For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance please see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.
This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.
You must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.
More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.
Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.
Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.
You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.
Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria:
Sovereign AI - Proof of concept assessor guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)
The rapid advancement of AI capabilities creates enormous opportunities for economic growth, security and geostrategic influence. The AI opportunities Action Plan outlines key priorities that will ensure the UK not only benefits from advancements in AI, but also is home to UK grown national champion AI companies with frontier AI capabilities. This will safeguard that the UK has sovereign access to frontier AI systems and be in a position to influence the future of AI’s values, safety and governance.
The Sovereign AI Unit has an ambitious mandate to strengthen the UK’s AI capabilities with up to £500 million of funding. It will do this by investing in UK companies, creating and developing UK AI assets and enables and making the UK the partner of choice for Frontier AI companies.
The Sovereign AI - Proof of concept funding opportunity aligns with the objectives of the Sovereign AI Unit mandate and seeks to inspire ambitious UK businesses to demonstrate innovation capability within principle ability to scale and set the foundations for the creation of the frontier AI systems of the future.
This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme in accordance with section 10(4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Projects funded must meet the following definitions:
Category 1: Feasibility study
The evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision making. This is done by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success.
Category 2: Industrial research
The planned research or critical investigation that is aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services. It can also be for projects that are aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services.
This would include digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies).
Industrial research comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems. It may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines. Where necessary, this would be for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.
Online briefing event: watch the recording.
Briefing slides are now available to download here:
Applicant Briefing Sovereign AI - Proof of concept.pdf (opens in a new window)
If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project set up process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).
We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.
You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project.
Watch our videos on what steps there are before a project starts and how successful applicants receive their funding or read more about Project Setup in our General guidance.
If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.
Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.
We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service.
Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.
Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Please visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.
A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.
This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
This competition is operated by Innovate UK.
Innovate UK is directly accountable to you for its holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with our own policies.
Innovate UK may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.
Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.
Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy
Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.
The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.
If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.
Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.