Funding opportunities
We're funding research at the edge of what is technologically or scientifically possible.
Types of funding
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Programmes (£10m–100m) Our programmes are designed to advance complex, large-scale ideas which require coordinated investment and management across disciplines and institutions. To build a programme, each Programme Director directs the review, selection, and funding of a portfolio of projects which work in tandem to drive breakthroughs. |
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Opportunity seeds (up to £500k) With smaller budgets and less structure than programmes, seeds support individual research teams to uncover new pathways that could inspire future programmes or might justify additional support as a standalone project. |
Funding calls
These calls are currently open for applications – make sure to read the calls for proposals before applying.
Opportunity Seed
Rolling opportunity seeds
Building on our previous funding calls for opportunity seed projects, we’re launching an open rolling call for proposals as an experiment across multiple opportunity spaces. We’re keen to learn from this process and use the lessons to make future calls stronger and more effective. We're looking to fund projects within the Mathematics for Safe AI, Nature Computes Better, Scoping Our Planet and Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity spaces, with up to £500k each.
Opportunity spaces
Mathematics for Safe AI, Nature Computes Better, Scoping Our Planet, Scalable Neural Interfaces
Application date
Rolling
Programme Funding
Accelerated Adaptation: Concept papers
We’re accepting concept papers for our £54m Accelerated Adaptation programme. The programme seeks to explore potential pathways to accelerate the adaptation of wild species in order to prevent biodiversity loss and secure the natural infrastructure that underpins our global economy and human health. We’re looking to fund a cohort of interdisciplinary teams that can develop scalable approaches to accelerating adaptation in wild species, rigorously assess their efficacy, model what the impact of proposed approaches would be, and explore the ethical and governance implications of these interventions.
Opportunity space
Engineering Ecosystem Resilience
Programme Director
Yannick Wurm
Application Date
05 March 2026
Programme Funding
Universal Fabricators: Concept papers
We’re accepting concept papers for our £50m Universal Fabricators programme. The programme seeks to harness proteins to produce a functionally universal range of materials at scale. We’re looking to fund a new interdisciplinary community to develop scalable processes that use proteins to template the assembly of inorganic and composite materials with structures that currently cannot be mass manufactured. This programme is designed to expand the Overton window in this domain – to move from biology into first-principles manufacturing approaches – and as such, we’re looking to fund Creators who are highly iterative and adaptable.
Opportunity space
Manufacturing Abundance
Programme Director
Ivan Jayapurna
Application Date
09 March 2026
Programme Funding
Scaling Trust: Full proposals
We’re accepting applications for funding within our £50m Scaling Trust programme. The programme’s goal is to create the capability for AI agents to securely coordinate, negotiate, and verify with one another on our behalf. To kickstart Phase 1 of this programme, we are seeking to fund teams to develop open-source coordination infrastructure and perform fundamental research that moves us from empirical to theory-driven guarantees in agentic coordination.
Opportunity space
Trust Everything, Everywhere
Programme Director
Alex Obadia
Application Date
24 March 2026
Programme Funding
Enduring Atmospheric Platforms: Full proposals
ARIA is launching a programme backed by at least £50 million to unlock the stratosphere as a persistent operating environment. The goal is to solve the interdependent challenges of flight and energy to create a resilient and sustainable platform layer between Earth and space. Success will be measured by a single, galvanising demonstration: keeping a platform aloft for one week while maintaining line-of-sight to a fixed ground point and continuously powering a 300W payload. This technical breakthrough will provide the physical backbone required for next-generation advanced communications, serving as a critical enabler for the projected £13–20 trillion annual economic potential of AI.
Opportunity Space
Scoping Our Planet
Programme Director
Rico Chandra
Application Date
02 April 2026
Accessibility support
If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, ARIA can offer support to help you with our funding application process or when you are carrying out your project.
How we work
We seek out exceptional scientists and engineers and empower them to turn their ideas into reality.
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