Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1

Overview

Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1 is designed to support early-stage innovation at the intersection of Createch and the UK’s Industrial Strategy Frontier Industries. Innovate UK is investing up to £10 million in projects that can move beyond proof of concept, reduce technical and commercial risk, and unlock future investment opportunities.

The competition focuses on high-growth commercial digital platforms and services that can drive long-term growth within the UK’s creative industries. Successful projects must demonstrate a highly innovative approach, clear commercial potential, and a credible route to market within 12 months of project completion.

Scope

Projects must support early-stage innovation at the intersection of high-growth Createch and the Industrial Strategy Frontier Industries.

Projects must:

• Be from the frontier industries as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan
• Focus on innovation in high-growth commercial digital platforms and services
• Demonstrate a clearly innovative and ambitious idea that addresses an industry challenge and unlocks significant growth
• Represent a significant improvement on existing products, services or capabilities within the business, with a demonstrable impact on growth plans
• Create a new revenue stream through new products, services or intellectual property
• Be market ready within 12 months of project completion
• Demonstrate value for money
• Consider potential positive social and environmental impacts

Innovate UK will adopt a portfolio approach and aims to support a diverse range of technologies and frontier industries through this competition.

Key themes and topics

Projects must focus on commercial digital platforms and services within one of the following frontier industries:

• Video games
• Advertising and marketing
• Film and TV
• Music, performing and visual arts

Cross-sector applications are welcomed where one or more frontier industries are combined with other creative industry sectors.

Projects will not be funded where they:

• Fall outside the identified frontier creative industries
• Are primarily business-as-usual activities
• Commission content without a clear innovation focus
• Focus solely on content creation rather than research and development
• Develop standard social networking platforms or community groups
• Create internal workflow tools without wider ecosystem benefits
• Deliver physical construction or infrastructure projects
• Create secondary funding programmes, accelerators or award schemes
• Lack evidence of significant economic impact or value for money
• Focus on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)

Project duration

9 to 12 months

Must start by 01 January 2027

End by 31 December 2027

Award value

Total costs between £100,000 and £500,000

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, applicants can receive funding towards 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
• Up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Research organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs.

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be collaborative and led by a UK registered SME
• Projects must include at least one grant claiming SME
• Collaborators can be a UK registered business of any size; an academic institution; a charity; a not for profit; a public sector organisation; or a research and technology organisation (RTO)
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs. Overseas subcontractors are permitted where applicants can demonstrate why suitable UK suppliers cannot be used
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK
• Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Research organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs
• No single partner can account for more than 70% of the total eligible project costs
• Subsidy control and state aid rules apply

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