Empowering scientists to reach for the edge of the possible
Scroll to get to know ARIAARIA is a UK R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone.
Society’s most important advances have stemmed from those willing to think differently about what might be possible.
The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) empowers scientists and engineers, from our Programme Directors to the teams we fund, with the resources and freedom to pursue breakthroughs at the edge of the possible.
Many will fail to meet their target, but their efforts will inspire the next generation. Those that do succeed will generate massive social and economic returns.
The latest from ARIA
Sustained Viral Resilience
Meet the 11 teams we’re funding in this programme
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Robot Locomotion
Share your thoughts as we explore a potential programme on robot locomotion
Discover moreJoin our third cohort of Programme Directors
Applications for our third cohort of Programme Directors will be open 17 August - 28 September for a May 2027 start date. Learn more about what we're looking for and register your interest so you can be the first to hear updates on the application process.
Opportunity spaces
ARIA's opportunity spaces are the frontiers where we believe transformational breakthroughs are possible. They're our strategic visions of the future: areas of unmet opportunity where we believe new capabilities will most benefit humanity and where ambitious research could fundamentally change what becomes possible.
Each opportunity space is highly interdisciplinary – spanning multiple disciplines and potential applications in new ways. Together, they form our framework for discovering and exploring new ideas – from guiding the development of our programmes all the way through to funding researchers to unlock these visions and build the future.
Discover our opportunity spaces below:
Nature-Inspired Computation
Programme: Scaling Compute
Programme: Olfactory Perception
Unsustainable energy requirements and limited datasets demand alternative scaling pathways for AI. Novel computing, learning and perception paradigms inspired by nature will enable radically greater efficiency and adaptability.
Featured insights
The hardware that science hasn’t built yet
How Amodo Design helps turn technical bottlenecks into possibilities
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The next companies coming out of UK science
Chosen from over 1,400 applicants, meet Encode Fellowship Cohort 2
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Giving robot hands a sense of slip
Touchlab’s Dr Zaki Hussein and Shadow Robot’s Rich Walker discuss TACTO
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