Innovate UK is investing up to £5 million to help UK AI SMEs take AI that supports high-stakes decisions out of the pilot stage and into real operational use.
BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision Critical Systems is the first phase of a three-phase programme worth up to £52 million in total. It funds short feasibility projects where an AI SME and a larger deployer organisation work together to show that an AI system can help people make consequential judgements, recommendations or decisions in a live setting. Strong Phase 1 projects can be invited to apply for Phase 2, worth up to £1 million per consortium, and then Phase 3, worth up to £2 million.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, how much funding is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
Find Out if You're Eligible Now
To find out if you and your project are suitable for this grant, book in a free Competitiveness and Eligibility Assessment. In just 25 minutes, I'll tell you:
- Whether you're a strong candidate for this competition
- Other grants you may be eligible for
- What other sources of funding we can help you secure
Never Miss a Funding Opportunity
New grant competitions are opening all the time. Make sure you don’t miss out by subscribing to GrantTree’s newsletter.
Who is Eligible?
Your Organisation
To lead a project, you must be a UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). This competition is collaborative only, so you'll need to apply as part of a consortium of two or three organisations.
As the lead, you must:
- Account for between 40% and 70% of total eligible project costs
- Be willing to take part in later phases of the programme if invited
- Have an existing AI or machine learning solution at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or 6, with a working minimum viable product
- Not already have the solution in commercial deployment for the proposed use case
- Show an innovative and substantive use of advanced AI or machine learning
You can only lead one application across the three BridgeAI strands, and you can't join any other BridgeAI applications as a partner. Academic institutions can't lead.
Your consortium must also include one deployer organisation. This is the organisation that will adopt and use your AI, and it must:
- Account for between 30% and 50% of total eligible project costs
- Be a UK-registered medium or large business, or a UK public sector organisation
- Operate in one of the eligible sectors listed below
- Provide access to the users, data, systems and workflows your project needs
The eligible sectors are:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Clean energy industries
- Creative industries
- Defence
- Financial services
- Health and life sciences
- Professional and business services
You can add one more partner, which can account for no more than 30% of total eligible project costs. The following UK-registered organisations can join as collaborators:
- Academic institutions
- Businesses of any size
- Charities
- Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- Not-for-profits
- Public sector organisations
- Research and technology organisations (RTOs)
- Research organisations
Subcontractors aren't allowed in this competition.
Your Project
Your project must:
- End by 31 August 2027
- Have a total grant request of between £100,000 and £200,000
- Last between three and five months
- Start by 1 April 2027
All funded work must be carried out in the UK, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Address significant, unresolved deployment challenges that go beyond routine implementation or configuration
- Assess the readiness of both the AI supplier and the deployer
- Build a clear, evidence-based use case that shows the value to the deployer
- End with a demonstration using representative deployer data and systems in a representative operational environment
- Focus on an AI system whose main purpose is to help people make high-risk or consequential judgements, recommendations or decisions
- Include letters of support from other potential deployers who could join later phases
- Outline how you'd assure the AI system and prepare the deployment site in Phase 2
Innovate UK won't fund projects that:
- Focus on early-stage research or concept development
- Focus on generic productivity tools, back office automation or routine business process improvement
- Use AI in a way that's peripheral to the deployer's core operations
BridgeAI has two sister strands: AI for Operational Systems and AI for Assurance and Compliance Systems. You must apply to the strand that matches your AI system's main purpose, and Innovate UK won't move or assess an application submitted to the wrong one.
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation's type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
Individual grants range from £100k to £200k.
Applying as a Company
| Project Type | Micro and Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Costs Covered* | 70% | 60% | 50% |
*This competition funds feasibility studies, which assess a project's potential, its strengths and weaknesses, and the resources needed to deliver it.
Funding Example
If you're a small AI company with £150,000 of eligible project costs, you could receive a grant of £105,000. You will need to fund the remaining £45,000 from other sources, like R&D Tax Relief, investment or loans.
Applying as a Non-Commercial Organisation
Research organisations doing non-economic work can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs and are funded at higher rates:
- Up to 100% of eligible costs if you're a charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation, research organisation or RTO
- Up to 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you're an academic institution, like a university
How Do I Apply?
The deadline for applications is 8 December 2026.
Applications are submitted via Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal.
The application is split into four sections:
Project Details
- Application details, including your project title, start date and duration
- Application team
- Project summary
- Public description
- Research category
- Scope
Most answers in this section are limited to 400 words, with up to 800 words for scope. The scope answer matters: if it doesn't show your project fits this strand, Innovate UK won't send your application for assessment.
Application Questions
There are 19 questions in total:
- Nine unscored administrative questions covering topics like your location, international collaboration, trusted research and your deployer's sector
- Ten scored questions covering market size, real-world application and benefit, solution readiness, route to deployment, skills, deployer readiness, learning, risks, milestones and delivery
You must also upload a technical architecture diagram (a PDF of up to two A4 pages) with the solution readiness question.
Finances
Each organisation in your consortium enters its own project costs, organisation details and funding details.
Project Impact
Every partner answers a short set of unscored Project Impact questions before the application can be submitted.
Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors. Their individual scores will be combined to determine your final result.
If you're successful, you'll be notified by 1 February 2027.
Like with most competitions, Innovate UK takes a 'portfolio approach' by funding projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. This means that a strong score won't necessarily guarantee that your application will be successful.
Maximise Your Chances of Securing Funding
GrantTree has 15 years of experience helping startups, scaleups and established businesses secure over £500 million in innovation funding.
We offer Full Service Write, Grant Review and Grant Matching, plus our bespoke Elevate package, which combines writing, review, coaching and matching to maximise your chances of success.
We work closely with active grant assessors to understand exactly what it takes to prepare a compelling application.
To find out how we can help, just get in touch.
