UK registered organisations can apply for the Pioneers Prize to develop Agentic AI solutions tackling sector challenges. Compete for a share of a £1 million prize pot and receive expert mentorship from the Catapult Network.
Competition opens: Monday 20 October 2025
Competition closes: Wednesday 19 November 2025 11:00am
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is launching a £1 million Prize Fund. This initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of Agentic AI for design across Advanced Manufacturing, Health and Life Sciences, and the Creative Industries.
Finalists will be promoted through a national communications campaign and winners will be awarded at an event with government and industry attendance.
This Expression of Interest (EOI) stage is designed to assess eligibility only. Applicants who meet the criteria will be invited to a Development Phase (Phase 2), where they can access one-to-one mentorship to assist with solution development.
At this EOI stage, we are screening your:
In Phase 2, eligible applicants will be invited to a closed competition, opening on the 1 December 2025. Each team will be able to select from a number of challenge statements that includes details of:
At Phase 2, applicants will be offered the opportunity to receive tailored one-to-one mentorship from the Catapult Network. The support will focus on leveraging challenge statements, accessing data pathways, and optimising compute resources.
Applicants will be expected to develop and evidence single or multi-agent solutions. These must directly address one of the published challenge statements, show measurable improvement against the evaluation criteria, and demonstrate innovation in model development and data curation.
By 23 February 2026, applicants must submit a Project Report that will then be reviewed by three independent expert assessors. Selected project teams will be invited to take part in an interview where you will be expected to demonstrate your solution. This will be detailed in Phase 2 and held between 9 to 20 March 2026.
Up to four cash prizes will be awarded to the top-performing solutions for:
A further £250,000 will be awarded to the best of best solution out of the three winners.
We expect to announce prize winners at an in person event towards the end of March 2026.
We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to policy changes or wider government decisions.
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.
Prize Fund
There is no funding in this Expression of Interest stage.
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).
Who can apply
To be eligible to participate, you must:
Innovate UK does not take any interest or ownership of any Intellectual property (IP) rights. Where you are collaborating, you are expected to agree background and foreground IP arrangements between yourselves before the demonstration phase.
This competition is open to single applicants and collaborations.
We will not accept consortia containing more than three organisations.
Lead organisation
To lead a consortium, 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.
The lead will be the contracting party for any subsequent prize award.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead organisation, you must be a UK-registered organisation.
Your consortium cannot include more than one large organisation.
A collaboration can include up to three organisations in total (the lead plus up to two partners)
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS.
Number of applications
A business may lead only one application but can be a partner on up to two further applications. If collaborating you can only be part of three applications.
If you wish to withdraw an application before the EOI deadline, please email support@iuk.ukri.org
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.
This competition provides a prize awarded 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.
This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.
This Expression of Interest (EOI) is phase one of the Pioneers Prize fund competition.
The total prize fund is £1 million.
Prizes are awarded following panel review against published criteria.
No financial support is provided during the competition phases.
Up to four cash prizes will be awarded to the top-performing solutions for:
A further £250,000 will be awarded to the best of best solution out of the three winners
Payment and conditions
Prizes are paid to the lead organisation only. The Lead is there to act as the recipient of the Prize and will be responsible for distributing the Prize funding to all other partners. This is known as a ‘hub and spoke’ model.
Awards will be made under the UK Subsidy Control framework.
We reserve the right to adjust allocations under exceptional circumstances, for example in response to policy changes or wider government decisions.
This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) competition. You must be selected at EOI to be invited to the Phase 2, Development Phase. Full challenge statements will be released at the start of Phase 2.
The aim of this competition is to accelerate the adoption of Agentic AI in design across three key UK growth sectors:
We are looking for practical, demonstrable solutions with a clear path to real-world deployment in the UK.
During the Phase 2 development phase, you will be expected to develop and evidence single or multi-agent solutions. These must directly address one of the sector challenges, show measurable improvement against the evaluation criteria, and demonstrate innovation in model development and data curation.
By 23 February 2026, you must submit a Project Report that includes:
We define Agentic AI in design as AI systems that take initiative, co-creating ideas, automating tasks, collaborating with humans, and coordinating complex systems to enhance the design process.
Agentic AI in Design could include use case such as:
The finalised challenge statements will be shared with shortlisted applicants.
The examples provided below are illustrative only, they represent the types of problems you may be solving, not the exact statements.
Health and Life Sciences examples:
Advanced Manufacturing examples:
Creative Industries examples:
20 October 2025 Competition opens
23 October 2025 Online briefing event: register to attend
(Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event)
19 November 2025 11:00am Competition closes
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 two 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.
Application team
Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.
Application details
Give your project’s title, start date and duration.
Innovate UK will review all applications internally to determine eligibility for Phase 2. Applicants will be notified whether they are invited to the next stage or deemed either ineligible or out of scope.
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 any partners 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. Export licence (not scored)
You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.
You must select one option:
Question 6. 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 7. Sector alignment
The aim of this competition is to accelerate the adoption of Agentic AI in design across three key UK growth sectors . What sector are you proposing to work in?
You must select one option:
This question for data collection purposes and is not a commitment.
Question 8. Participation commitment
You must confirm you can participate in Phase 2 and meet submission and testing deadlines
You must select one option:
Question 9. Agentic AI experience
What relevant experience do you have in designing, implementing and validating Agentic AI systems?
Describe for a delivered Agentic AI system (single or multi-agent):
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a whitepaper as an appendix. The whitepaper does not need to be a formal publication, but a concise technical summary to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to 2 A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 10. Agentic AI Capability
What in-house Agentic AI capability do you own or control, for example owned codebases, models, evaluators?
Describe your proprietary Agentic AI assets, including:
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 11. Mentorship support
From the list indicate any areas where you may need support during your Phase 2 Development phase:
If no support is required, you answer must be ‘Not required’.
Your answer can be up to 50 words long.
Your EOI application will be screened for eligibility and scope only.
There is no scoring at EOI. Applications are reviewed by Innovate UK screeners against the published eligibility rules and competition scope.
Outcomes are reported as Eligible or Ineligible and In scope or Out of scope. Only applications that are both Eligible and In scope will be invited to the Phase 2 Development phase..
Conflicts of interest are managed in line with competition guidance.
Catapult mentorship
Applicants can choose from a list of challenge statements, issued if invited to the Phase 2 Development phase of the competition.
Once you have selected your specific challenge statement for Phase 2, you will be given the option to contact the appropriate Catapult to engage with the mentorship support.
This support is optional, you can choose whether or not to engage with the Catapult team.
Accessing Compute Resources
You can apply separately to the UKRI AI Research Resource (AIRR) for time-limited compute access. HVMC will support eligible applicants in navigating the application process and making the most of this resource.
Rapid Access (for SMEs) UK-registered micro, small, and medium businesses can apply for:
You must declare eligible project costs and follow Subsidy Control rules.
Gateway Route (for businesses, research organisations, charities, and not-for-profits)
Eligible UK organisations can apply for:
How to align with this competition
If applying to AIRR, plan your project start date so the 3-month usage window matches your development timeline. For example, a December or January start would cover work into February or March.
Keep your application self-contained (no external links) and explain how compute supports your R&D.
What AIRR applications typically require
Important Notes
Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.
If you are not taken forward at this stage, you will receive a brief reason in your IFS portal following notification. As this EOI is an eligibility check only with no scoring,detailed assessor feedback is not provided.
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.
If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.
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.
To support successful applicants, Innovate UK will share relevant information submitted and produced during the application process with selected delivery partners for the purpose of providing one-to-one mentorship and tailored support.
The delivery partners are:
This includes the information stated on successful applications, including the personal details of the successful applicants.
These partners may contact successful applicants directly, on Innovate UK’s behalf, to offer support aligned with the objectives of the programme.
Innovate UK is accountable for its handling and processing of your information as data controller. The delivery partners are accountable for meeting their obligations as data processors. Data will be held and processed in accordance with each organisation’s applicable data protection policies and legal obligations.
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 are joint data controllers for the personal data of successful applicants processed to deliver this programme. We have an arrangement under UK GDPR Article 26 that sets out our respective roles and responsibilities, including who provides privacy information and who handles data subject rights; key points are available on request. The delivery partners, High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult), Digital Catapult, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and National Composites Centre (NCC), act as data processors on our documented instructions and are not permitted to use the data for their own purposes.
Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy
High Value Manufacturing Catapult Privacy Policy
Digital Catapult Privacy Policy
National Composites Centre Privacy Policy
Centre for Process Innovation Privacy Policy
Manufacturing Technology Centre 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.