Women in Innovation Awards 2025 to 2026

The Women in Innovation Awards provide targeted support to women founders and co-founders leading high potential UK start-ups. Innovate UK will award up to 60 grants, each worth up to £75,000, alongside 12 months of bespoke business support designed to accelerate the growth of women-led businesses.

What the Award Supports

The competition targets women innovators in three of the UK’s high growth sectors:

Advanced Manufacturing

• Automotive: the UK aims to lead in Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) and Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM)
• Batteries: will power the transition to net zero and are central to the UK’s clean energy and decarbonisation goals
• Aerospace: central to the UK’s ambition to lead in low carbon aircraft technologies, advanced propulsion systems, and next generation aviation innovation
• Space: space technologies are part of the UK's ambition to lead in Industry 4.0, including, in-orbit satellite assembly, advanced manufacturing tools for space applications and integration with AI and automation
• Advanced materials: UK manufacturers are leading the charge in developing next generation components that are more sustainable and resilient and better suited for low carbon applications
• Agri-tech: pioneering revolutionary approaches to agricultural productivity and sustainable food production, supporting both domestic and global supply chains

Digital and Technologies

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): supporting the development of foundation models and applied AI across sectors including health, finance, and manufacturing
• Cyber Security: strengthening national cyber resilience and promoting UK leadership in secure digital infrastructure
• Quantum Technologies: investing in quantum computing, sensing, and communications to unlock transformative capabilities
• Semiconductors: building strategic supply chains and domestic manufacturing capacity for critical semiconductor components
• Engineering Biology: advancing synthetic biology and bio-manufacturing for applications in health, agriculture, and materials
• Advanced Connectivity: expanding 5G and preparing for 6G networks, alongside satellite based communications for remote areas

Life Sciences

• Biotechnology: supporting breakthroughs in areas such as genomics, nucleic acid based medicines, cell and gene therapies
• MedTech: accelerating development of AI enabled diagnostics, wearable devices, and minimally invasive technologies
• Pharmaceuticals: driving innovation across medicines discovery and development, and scaling sustainable manufacturing technologies. Utilising frontier technologies of AI, engineering biology and quantum
• Health Data and AI: integrating NHS data with AI tools to improve patient outcomes and enable personalised medicine

Eligible applicants must be women founders or co-founders of a UK registered SME at the late stage start-up phase. Businesses should have a prototype or minimal viable product, early customer interest, a clear market opportunity and a plan to scale that includes raising investment in the next 12 to 24 months.

Deadline: 4 February 2026 at 11:00am