Investor Partnerships - ACT and Semiconductors

Overview

Innovate UK has allocated up to £15 million to support growth-focused UK SMEs developing Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT), semiconductor technologies and AI hardware.

The competition combines R&D grant funding with private investment through Innovate UK’s Investor Partnerships model. It is targeted at innovative businesses from seed to Series A that can demonstrate strong growth and scale potential.

Applicants must already be working with a selected investor partner and secure aligned private investment alongside the Innovate UK grant. Projects can focus on ACT, semiconductors including AI hardware, or technologies that bring connectivity and semiconductor capabilities together.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to provide SMEs with support for research and development and access to the capital investment needed to develop and commercialise their innovations.

Proposals must have a clear route to market, a clear link to innovation and evidence that the business can create a team to deliver the proposal.

Applicants must be registered in the UK as an SME by the time the award is contracted and be able to complete the aligned investment led by the investor partner needed to qualify for the award, through the issue of new shares or convertible debt.

Projects must demonstrate that, if funded, they will:

• have significant market impact
• be scalable
• be attractive to equity investors

Proposals must support the research and development of Advanced Connectivity Technologies, semiconductor technologies, or combine both.

Projects must demonstrate strong innovation, a clear route to market and the potential to attract private investment.

Key themes and topics

Projects must focus on one of the following three themes:

Theme 1 – Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT)

This theme supports the development and commercialisation of secure, resilient and sustainable ACT solutions.

The two Grand Challenges prioritised for funding are:

• Secure and resilient networks: developing trustworthy connectivity technologies that protect networks from cyber threats and disruption, while improving reliability, coverage and continuity of service
• Sustainable networks: developing technologies that reduce network energy use and environmental impact, improve spectrum efficiency and enable smarter use of network resources

Projects can include, but are not limited to:

• integration of Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
• components or architectures that reduce energy use in connectivity systems
• improved use of spectrum
• assured Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) systems and integration
• advanced Radio Frequency (RF) architectures and components
• network-enabled sensing, positioning and timing (PNT)
• RF interference, spoofing and jamming resilience
• metamaterials and adaptive antenna systems
• advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and physical layer innovation
• AI-native and autonomous network architectures
• AI-enabled RF design automation

Projects addressing this theme that primarily include semiconductor innovations should apply under Theme 3.

Theme 2 – Semiconductors (including AI Hardware)

This theme supports the development and commercialisation of semiconductor technologies, materials, equipment, components and processes.

Projects can include, but are not limited to:

• novel compute hardware and AI accelerators
• advanced semiconductor materials and device innovation
• integrated circuit (IC) design and architecture
• fabrication processes, equipment and manufacturing technologies
• power electronics and energy-efficient devices
• sensors, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and embedded systems
• photonics and optoelectronics

Projects aligned with the UK’s AI Hardware Plan will be prioritised for funding.

AI hardware includes chips and semiconductor technologies that underpin AI across data centre, edge and embodied AI systems. Relevant areas include:

• compute, including AI chips and accelerators for training, inference and edge use
• photonic interconnects and data movement
• sensing, including vision, radar, lidar, RF-based and photonic sensing
• power and energy systems, including advanced power electronics

Where the primary application of a semiconductor innovation is within connectivity networks, applicants should apply under Theme 3.

Theme 3 – Convergence of ACT and Semiconductor technologies for use in communication networks

This theme supports the development and commercialisation of innovations that integrate semiconductors, specialist hardware and software into advanced connectivity solutions, including AI applications and systems.

Projects must demonstrate substantial convergence of Themes 1 and 2, such as:

• specialised semiconductors and hardware for communications and network infrastructure
• photonic and optoelectronic systems for high-speed data transmission
• hardware and software co-design for connectivity applications
• system-level optimisation across semiconductor and network layers
• integrated platforms combining sensing, compute and connectivity

Projects will not be funded if they are:

• not carried out by SMEs
• collaborative R&D projects
• not part of a company’s growth plan
• unable to demonstrate potential for return on investment and growth
• focused on large capital infrastructure
• not invited by a specified investor partner
• dependent on export performance
• dependent on domestic inputs usage

Project duration

6 to 18 months

Projects must start by 1st February 2027

Award value

Grant funding request between £175,000 and £700,000

Industrial research projects can have total project costs between £250,000 and £1 million.

Experimental development projects can have total project costs between £500,000 and £2 million.

Funding rates

For industrial research projects, purposeful research that builds new knowledge and skills to improve or develop products, processes, or services, often through prototypes or system components that validate ideas in realistic settings, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

The minimum aligned investment led by the investor partner must be at least equal to the grant funding.

For experimental development projects, which use existing knowledge to shape and refine new or improved products, processes, or services through prototyping, testing and validation, and are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation

The minimum aligned investment led by the investor partner must be at least twice the grant funding.

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be led by a UK registered business of any size
• Projects must include at least one grant claiming SME
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK
• Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Subsidy control and state aid rules apply