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Overview of the Programme
Innovate UK is investing a minimum of £2.5 million through the Frontier AI Discovery competition to support early-stage feasibility studies in artificial intelligence.
The programme aims to accelerate the development of frontier AI, machine learning, and foundation models in the UK by supporting organisations to explore ambitious, high-impact ideas and prepare for large-scale collaborative R&D projects.
This competition represents Phase 1 of a two-stage funding pipeline. It focuses on assessing feasibility, building consortia, and developing strong proposals for Phase 2, where successful applicants may access significantly larger funding to develop demonstrator projects.
What the Programme Supports
The competition supports feasibility studies that explore new-to-the-world AI and ML capabilities aligned with key national priorities.
Projects should focus on one or more of the following themes:
The projects must last upto 3 months and demonstrate innovation in areas such as model architecture, training methods, or core learning algorithms.
Who Can Apply
Applicants may apply individually at this stage.
The lead organisation must be a UK-registered:
Only UK-based subcontractors are permitted in this competition.
Funding and Support Available
Innovate UK will invest a minimum of £2.5 million in this Phase 1 competition.
Eligible cost per project: Between £25,000 and £50,000
Funding rate varies between 50% to 70% depending on the organization type. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for Phase 2, which is expected to fund large collaborative R&D projects with project costs between £5 million and £10 million over 24 to 36 months.
Key Dates and Timeline
Competition opens: 14 April 2026
Application deadline: 10 June 2026, 11:00am
Future Phase 2 competitions will be open only to successful Phase 1 applicants.
How Inventya Can Help
Early-stage competitions like this require clear thinking around both technical ambition and long-term delivery.
Inventya supports organisations in shaping strong feasibility studies that lay the groundwork for larger collaborative projects. We help clients to:
Our insights enable innovators to strategically position their early-stage concepts to unlock substantial, competitive funding pathways.
