Sovereign AI Strategic Assets Grants Programme

Sovereign AI Strategic Assets Grants Programme is sponsored by Sovereign AI Fund / Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This program funds the creation of shared strategic AI assets that are critical inputs for the growth of UK AI startups and the wider AI ecosystem. The initial focus is on high-value AI datasets and autonomous or automated laboratory infrastructure.

Sovereign AI Strategic Assets Grants Programme - GOV-UK Find a grant Sovereign AI Strategic Assets Grants Programme The Sovereign AI Fund is offering grants of £1 million to £9 million to fund the creation of strategic AI assets. The programme initially focuses on two asset classes: high-value AI datasets and autonomous or automated laboratory infrastructure.

Grants are open to UK-registered companies research organisations, universities and consortia with a credible plan to build a strategic AI asset aligned with one or more Sovereign AI focus areas. The scheme sits within the Sovereign AI Funds wider offer to support AI firms in the UK.

Opening date : 16 April 2026, 6:00pm Closing date : 5 June 2026, 2:00pm Get updates about this grant The Sovereign AI Strategic Assets Grants Programme funds the creation of shared strategic AI assets that are critical inputs for the growth of UK AI startups and the wider AI ecosystem. This initial round has £9 million available for grant awards in the range of £1 million to £9 million.

It initially focuses on two priority asset classes: high-value AI and autonomous or automated laboratory infrastructure. New asset classes may be added in future and will be clearly communicated. The grants are open to AI startups, research organisations, universities and other types of organisations that may be best placed to create the asset.

Consortia are welcome. What matters is that the asset gets built, that it is accessible to the firms that need it, and that it strengthens the UK's position in strategically important parts of the AI value chain. The programme operates two funding tracks.

The non-commercial track is for projects where the creator will not commercially exploit the outputs, and the asset will have broad, open, non-discriminatory access. These may be funded at up to 100% of eligible costs. The commercial track is for projects where the applicant will derive commercial benefit.

These are ordinarily funded at up to 50% of eligible costs, with up to 70% considered where the project would not proceed at a lower rate, the funding requested is the minimum necessary, and the asset delivers significant wider benefit with broad enforceable access. All matched funding on the commercial track must come from private sources.

Subject to future approvals, the Fund intends to launch a larger Strategic Assets Programme with up to £160 million later in 2026. To be eligible for this scheme the lead applicant must be a UK-registered company or organisation including companies, charities, universities, research organisations and other UK-registered bodies. Consortia may apply.

The lead applicant must be a UK-registered organisation that would enter into the grant agreement with DSIT. Non-UK organisations may participate as consortium partners. DSIT may require consortium members to enter into a collaboration agreement before grant agreement signature.

The proposal must fall within the scope of the scheme and one of the two current eligible asset classes: high-value AI datasets or autonomous or automated laboratory infrastructure. The project must be located and delivered in the UK. The grant request must be between £1 million and £9 million.

The proposal must seek funding only for eligible activities and eligible expenditure. Eligible costs may include equipment, infrastructure and other capital expenditure needed to create and commission the asset, intangible asset development directly contributing to creation of the strategic asset, and limited initial operating or commissioning costs necessary to establish, test and commission the asset for first use.

The scheme will not fund ongoing business-as-usual operating costs, routine commercial activity after initial commissioning, activity that does not directly contribute to creating the asset, or retrospective costs incurred before grant award. The proposal must be sufficiently clear and coherent to allow assessment.

Proposals must align with one or more Sovereign AI focus areas: Compute Efficiency and Sovereign Architecture, Next-Generation AI Labs, Health and Life Sciences, AI for Scientific Discovery, AI Trust Integrity and Assurance, or Defence and National Security.

The Strategic Assets Programme supports the Sovereign AI Fund’s wider objective of securing long-term strategic advantage for the UK by growing and anchoring strategically significant AI companies at key leverage points in the AI value chain.

The programme will help achieve this by funding the development of shared strategic AI assets, initially focusing on high-value AI datasets and autonomous or automated laboratory infrastructure in Sovereign AI focus areas.

By improving access to these strategically important assets for UK AI startups, firms and researchers, the programme will help enable the testing, validation, commercialisation and scaling of AI products and services in the UK. Applications open on 16 April 2026 at 6:00pm. EOIs can be submitted on a rolling basis and will be assessed within 3 working days.

We recommend submitting an EOI as early as possible to allow time for assessment and, if successful, preparation and submission of a full application by the relevant deadline. Full application deadlines Applicants who wish to be considered in a particular full application window should submit their EOI at least three working days before the relevant full application deadline.

Successful applicants must then submit their full application by that deadline in order to be considered in that window. If they do not, they will need to wait until the next available full application window. Applicants should note that submitting an EOI close to a full application deadline may leave very limited time to prepare and submit a full application by that deadline.

Applicants can expect to hear the outcome of their full application around one month after the relevant deadline. The initial competition will close after the June window. Applicants must therefore submit their EOI in time to allow assessment and, if successful, submission of a full application by 5 June 2026 at 2:00pm.

Subject to approvals, a larger programme is expected to follow this initial programme, with total spending over the four-year period rising to up to £160 million. The scheme operates a three-stage application process. Stage 1 Expression of Interest.

Submit a short EOI via the application portal on the Sovereign AI Fund website: Compute, Strategic Assets & Procurement | UK Sovereign AI . This is used to check eligibility, scope and strategic fit. DSIT aims to assess EOIs and complete due diligence screening within 3 working days.

Stage 2 Full Application. Applicants whose EOIs are successful will be invited into the next published full application batch. Full applications are assessed against four scored criteria: technical feasibility and deliverability, impact, governance and operating model, and cost and value for money.

Applications must score at least 4 out of 5 on each Stage 2 criterion to progress. Stage 3 Final Decision. Proposals that meet the Stage 2 thresholds are reviewed by the Investment Committee, which scores Strategic fit and makes the final funding decision.

The final full application closing date is 5 June 2026 at 2:00pm. EOIs are assessed within 3 working days, so applicants should submit their EOI early enough to allow time for assessment and, if successful, submission of a full application by the closing date. See additional detail including full competition guidance on the Sovereign AI Fund website: Compute, Strategic Assets & Procurement | UK Sovereign AI