Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems

Key facts

About this grant

Summary from the official listing on Find a Grant (GOV.UK):

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,…

Eligibility

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

Details are copied from the official source and can change. Check the official listing before you apply. Grant Writing Company is not affiliated with this funder.