UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has opened applications for a £5 million fund designed to back projects that bring together artificial intelligence specialists and domain experts to unlock capabilities in priority sectors.
Offering grants of up to £250,000 to cover up to 80% of full economic costs for projects lasting up to one year, the application window opened on September 29, 2026, and will close on December 1, 2026.
Rather than funding incremental advances or structural algorithmic updates, the investment specifically targets application-focused research challenges within five key areas: engineering biology (with an emphasis on AI-driven biotechnologies for clean growth and sustainable food systems); advanced materials; quantum technologies; medical research; and fusion energy.
Interested organisations must meet UKRI’s standard institutional eligibility criteria, and all submissions must be routed through an approved lead UK research organisation registered on the new UKRI Funding Service portal. Through a Distributed Peer Review (DPR) model, applicant teams are required to nominate up to two members encompassing both AI and domain expertise, who will directly review and score other anonymous proposals submitted to the pool. The lead researcher must satisfy standard UKRI individual eligibility rules and be based at an approved UK institution.
Overseas researchers cannot apply as primary project leads. They can only be designated as international project co-leads if the application utilises specific, formal cross-border frameworks, namely the UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation agreement or the UKRI-IIASA agreement. All other international collaborators or unapproved UK partners must be listed strictly as project partners, requiring formal collaboration agreements if an award is made.
Key Deadlines & Details
- Funding Pool: £5 million total allocation, capped at £250,000 per project.
- Applicant Eligibility: Must be based at a UKRI-eligible UK research organisation.
- Key Briefing: An informational applicant webinar is scheduled for 14 October 2026.
- Closing Date: Applications must be fully submitted via the new UKRI Funding Service portal by 1 December 2026 at 4:00 pm UK time.
- Project Term: All funded projects are scheduled for a fixed start date of 26 April 2027.
Interested research teams and AI specialists can review the full criteria and submit their proposals on the UKRI Funding Service Portal.
