Funding competition

Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems

UK registered SME businesses can apply for a share of up to £1.66 million to deliver experimental validation of prototype AI systems for novel reusable components of efficient, structured and controllable learning systems.

• Competition opens: Monday 12 October 2026
• Competition closes: Wednesday 18 November 2026 11:00am

This competition has not yet opened.

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Competition sections

• Summary
• Eligibility
• Scope
• How to apply
• Supporting information

Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £1.66 million on industrial research for novel reusable AI mechanisms. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. The aim of this competition is to advance the development of novel reusable artificial intelligence (AI) mechanisms that will form the foundations for the next generation of AI and machine learning (ML) systems of the future. The driving strategic imperative is that future capabilities beyond the current state of the art, require fundamentally different underlying architectures and learning systems to advance beyond current limitations. Resource adaptive learning mechanisms, intervention tested and counterfactual prediction, graph-native learning topologies and representation modelling for scalable primitive learning components are fundamental components for adaptive scalable learning systems. We will fund UK SMEs to experimentally validate novel AI mechanisms that could underpin future generations of efficient, structured, adaptive and controllable AI systems. For this competition, novel mechanistic AI means an AI or ML system in which the principal technical advance is attributable to one or more of:

• a new learning or credit assignment mechanism
• an adaptive or dynamically reconfigurable architecture
• a learned causal or intervention grounded model
• a graph-native or relational computational architecture
• a compositional representation, skill or operator mechanism
• a mechanism, model or architecture exerting measurable control over an agent When an existing frontier model is used, applications must demonstrate that the proposed advance remains technically material above the base model. The competition is intended primarily for:
• research intensive AI startups
• deep tech SMEs
• university spinouts
• pre-commercial companies developing proprietary AI technology Technology readiness level (TRL) Projects must start at TRL 1, 2 or 3 and we expect projects to be making an advance of 0.5 to 1 TRL during delivery. Your project must deliver all of the following:
• a prototype algorithm architecture or subsystem
• an experimental and validation environment
• results against named baselines or a hypothesis
• ablation and negative control evidence
• a plan for further development At the end of the project, you will be required to submit a technical whitepaper summarising:
• technical progress and outcomes: concise description of what was built and learned
• evidence and validation: quantified results against pre-defined success criteria, test conditions and a clear statement of remaining technical risks and limitations
• innovation defensibility plan Subject to Business Case approvals, there might be a second phase of this opportunity. If successful, we will notify you of the conditions and availability of Phase 2. There is no funding currently allocated for Phase 2. This is phase 1 of a potential 2 phase competition. 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 4% chance of success. We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny. We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding 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.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £50,000 and £150,000.

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).

Who can apply

Your project Your project must:

• have total costs of between £50,000 and £150,000
• last between 1 and 3 months
• start by 1 April 2027
• end by 30 June 2027 Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK. 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. Lead organisation To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME). More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules. Subcontractors Subcontractors are not allowed in this competition. Number of applications An eligible organisation can only lead on one application. Any further applications by the same organisation as lead will be made ineligible. 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 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.

Previous applications

You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project
• an overdue independent accountant’s report
• failed to comply with award terms and conditions Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

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. 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. 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 not do anything which could cause a breach of 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.

Funding

Up to £1.66 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. 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. Under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route rules, no more than £3 million can be awarded in the form of a grant to any one enterprise in any one competition. 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. For feasibility studies, industrial research, experimental development and innovation support you can get funding for your eligible project costs of: Category 1: Feasibility studies

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation Category 2: Industrial research projects
• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation For more information on company sizes, 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.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to advance the development of novel reusable artificial intelligence (AI) mechanisms that will form the foundations for the next generation of AI and machine learning (ML) systems of the future. Your project must drive development of a new core AI or ML technology by establishing experimental evidence for a new architecture, learning process, representation or control mechanism. The technology developed must have the potential to underpin capabilities, products, platforms or services across multiple future applications or markets. We are looking for applications with a clear route to defensibility, such as protectable IP, proprietary data advantage, specialist know-how or other credible barriers to entry, with a path to scale. Your project is not required to develop a complete commercial product. You must demonstrate the technical feasibility of the core mechanism, architecture or critical subsystem being developed. Projects must start at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 1 to 3 at time of application and we expect projects to be able to make an advance by 0.5 to 1 TRL level during project delivery. Your proposal must demonstrate that AI or ML innovation is the core technical contribution and principal source of any potential competitive advantage you are likely to generate if successful. Your project must deliver:

• experimental validation of your hypothesis
• a clear validation methodology against predefined metrics
• evidence of technical novelty and a technical asset
• a scaling rationale for the technology and business model
• a technical white paper To be in scope of this competition you must sufficiently describe:
• the technical novelty and hypothesis driven experimentation statement
• what technical asset the project will create
• how it could underpin future products, platforms or services
• the justification of TRL classification Portfolio approach We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities, themes and research categories. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your proposal must fall within one or more of the following themes. You must focus on at least one specific priority within each theme you select. If your application does not align with the theme and specific priority you select, it will not be sent for assessment. Theme 1. Resource and data adaptive learning Learning mechanisms that reduce dependence on large datasets, repeated full model training or unnecessary computation by adapting what information is acquired, retained or updated according to uncertainty, task requirements or expected information value. You must focus on one of the following priorities:

• active and probabilistic learning, including uncertainty aware selection of informative data, experiments, simulations or interactions
• continual and selective learning mechanisms that enable new knowledge or capabilities to be acquired without repeated full model retraining
• data efficient learning under limited or expensive observations, using probabilistic representations, structured priors or uncertainty to improve learning efficiency Theme 2. Causal and intervention grounded models Mechanisms that learn, discover or exploit causal and counterfactual structure to improve generalisation, prediction, intervention selection or decision making when underlying conditions or data generating processes change. You must focus on one of the following priorities:
• causal representation learning
• interventional or counterfactual learning
• causal discovery under partial observability Theme 3. Learned modular computation and routing Learning mechanisms that discover, select, compose or reuse internal computational components, enabling models to dynamically route computation and reuse learned functions across tasks, environments or novel combinations. You must focus on one of the following priorities:
• learned modular architectures and computational routing
• reusable learned functional primitives or subroutines
• adaptive composition and reuse of learned computational components Theme 4. Geometric, equivariant and physics structured learning Learning mechanisms that exploit or discover geometric, symmetry, relational or physical structure to improve data efficiency, generalisation, robustness or consistency beyond what can be achieved by learning these regularities from data alone. You must focus on one of the following priorities:
• equivariant or invariant learning architectures
• geometric and relational learning on structured or non-Euclidean domains
• physics structured learning, including methods incorporating physical symmetries, constraints, conservation structure or differentiable dynamics

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects and industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• do not sufficiently provide clear background IP ownership or rights
• do not sufficiently provide a specific defensibility route
• do not align with the competition theme and specific priority areas
• do not sufficiently provide a named baseline with metrics and numeric targets for validation
• do not provide a falsifiable hypothesis driven experimentation plan
• do not sufficiently address the scope of the competition
• are primarily literature review studies, requirement gathering, without substantive experimental research and development,
• propose routine integration, deployment, orchestration or productisation of existing AI tools or third party models without novel AI or ML development
• are not delivering measurable and specific objectives
• are primarily routine integration or deployment of existing AI tools without substantive technical innovation
• don’t have clear technical novelty and feasibility challenge
• do not result in defensible foreground IP
• focus primarily on non-AI or non-ML research and development, including cross-cutting projects
• focus on prompt engineering, generic agent orchestration, routine Graph Neural Network (GNN) application, passive only agentic layers We cannot fund projects that are:
• dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country
• dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product

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Timeline

• 12 October 2026: Competition opens
• 16 October 2026: Online briefing event: join at 11am (Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event)
• 18 November 2026 11:00am: Competition closes
• 20 January 2027: Applicants notified
• 1 April 2027: Project start by

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:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct
• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
• all sections of the application are marked as complete 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:

1. Project details.
2. Application questions.
3. Finances.
4. Project Impact. 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).

1. Project details

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 To be in scope of this competition you must sufficiently describe:

• the technical novelty and hypothesis driven experimentation statement
• what technical asset the project will create
• how it could underpin future products, platforms or services
• the justification of TRL classification If your answer does not sufficiently address how your proposal meets the competition scope, or your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment in line with our General Guidance section: What happens after you have submitted your application. If your application is not in scope, you will be made ineligible. We will email the lead applicant with the reasons why. Your answer can be up to 800 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 7. 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. Any website addresses or URLs included, will not be viewed or opened. Question 1. Themes (not scored) Select one main theme from the specific themes list in the ‘Scope’ section of this competition. You cannot choose more than one.

• Theme 1. Resource and data adaptive learning
• Theme 2. Causal and intervention grounded models
• Theme 3. Learned modular computation and routing
• Theme 4. Geometric, equivariant and physics structured learning Question 2. Applicant location (not scored) You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation. 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 3. Animal testing (not scored) Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option:
• Yes
• No 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 4. Permits and licences (not scored) Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?