Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: December 8, 2026, 11:00am UK time (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: £100,000–£200,000 per project for three to five months; up to £5 million available
Summary: Supports UK AI SMEs and deployers to define and demonstrate innovative uses of existing AI or machine learning solutions in operational systems.
Key Information: Collaborative applications only: a UK AI SME lead, an eligible UK deployer, and at most one additional partner.
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), runs this Phase 1 feasibility competition within the BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst programme. It supports advanced AI and machine learning systems whose primary purpose is to perform, control or coordinate operational activity within workflows, processes, software, equipment or infrastructure. Reliable integration and performance must matter to the deployer’s operations.
Projects will define an evidence-based deployment use case, assess supplier and deployer readiness, identify deployment barriers and prepare a pathway towards live use. They must demonstrate the solution using representative deployer data and systems in a representative operational environment towards project completion. The programme aims to move existing solutions beyond pilots towards trusted deployment and replication, while generating learning for wider UK commercial adoption.
