Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, has announced BridgeAI, a new program aimed at driving growth and competitiveness in the UK economy through the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Part of the £100 million investment will come from the Innovate UK & the Technologies Mission Fund (TMF), launched by HMG/UKRI on 6 March 2023, to bring AI experts and developers together with priority Connect sector businesses and foster AI innovation networks. England.
Will Drury, Executive Director of Digital and Technology at Innovate UK, commented: We aim to unlock the untapped potential of AI to improve productivity and efficiency across key sectors.
“By fostering AI innovation at the grassroots level, we believe this program will enable thousands of businesses to add even greater value to the UK economy and compete more effectively on the global stage.”
The program will help businesses improve productivity and efficiency through AI, focusing on sectors with high growth potential, such as agriculture, construction, transportation, and creative industries. These four sectors have been identified as industries with high potential for transformation in addition to currently low AI adoption rates.
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a public agency sponsored by the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT). The BridgeAI program supports the UK Government’s National AI Strategy as the UK transitions to an AI-enabled economy with widespread adoption of AI across sectors.
BridgeAI is delivered in collaboration with a network of strategic delivery partners who share Innovate UK’s commitment to increasing AI adoption and responsible implementation. Key partners include Digital Catapult, part of the Innovate UK system, Hartree Center (STFC) and Alan Turing Institute.
The upcoming competition is the ‘AI Solutions Feasibility Study’, which will invest up to £5m in short-term (4-6 months) AI innovation projects. The competition is open to UK registered Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture, construction, transport and creative industries.
The award will be given to applications that demonstrate how they can work with AI developers or academic institutions to address business challenges and opportunities that drive productivity improvements using AI. A successful grant applicant can receive up to £50,000 and applications will close on 25 May 2023.
Details of BridgeAI were officially announced at the “BridgeAI Launch Event” held in central London on April 26th. The event brought together companies looking to use AI alongside industry leaders and key stakeholders within the UK AI ecosystem.
Matthew Neville – Bdaily Senior Correspondent
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