Funding of up to £900,000 for UK registered micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support late-stage R&D and commercialisation, aligned with private investment from an Innovate UK Investor Partner.
This competition opens on 10 December 2025 and closes at 11am on 3 February 2026.
Who it is for
This competition is open to single applicants only.
To apply your organisation must
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
- carry out its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- have been invited to apply by an investor from the Innovate UK pool of selected investor partners
You must also have a project that is aligned to the following UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy (“Invest 2035”) key sectors
- Advanced manufacturing
- Clean energy industries
- Digital and technologies
- Defence
- Creative industries
- Life sciences
The eligibility criteria will depend on your research category.
For feasibility studies
- your total project costs must be between £50,000 and £300,000
- the project duration must be between 6 and 12 months
For industrial research
- your total project costs must be between £100,000 and £1 million
- the project duration must be between 6 and 24 months
For experimental development
- your total project costs must be between £250,000 and £2 million
- the project duration must be between 12 and 24 months
Support you can get
This competition aims to provide you with support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations.
For feasibility studies and industrial research projects, Innovate UK will fund
- up to 70% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 60% for medium-sized organisations
For experimental development projects, Innovate UK will fund
- up to 45% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 35% for medium-sized organisations
Funding is provided on the condition that it is matched by private investment from an Innovate UK Investor Partner.
Support organisers
Contact
Innovate UK
Phone
0300 321 4357
Next Steps
on the Innovation Funding Service website
Published
16 December 2025
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