Innovate UK Smart grants are paused. What to apply for instead in 2026

By Martin Chadwick, founder · 15 October 2026 · 3 min read

In short

Innovate UK paused its Smart grants in January 2025, and no Smart rounds have run since. The government named the £130m Growth Catalyst as the new route.
Growth Catalyst is narrower than Smart. It targets growth sectors such as AI, semiconductors, advanced connectivity, quantum and engineering biology.
The 2025 New Innovators round paid £25k to £50k at 100% of costs to first-time micro and small businesses.
Investor Partnerships pairs grants of up to £900k with private investment from an approved investor partner.
For AI businesses, the BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst is open from 21 October to 8 December 2026.

For years, Innovate UK Smart grants were the default answer to "how do we fund this idea?". They were open to any sector, paid £100k to £500k, and ran several times a year. They were also hard to win, with success rates of roughly 3 to 4%.

In January 2025 Innovate UK paused them. If you were planning a Smart application, here is what the landscape looks like now.

What happened to Smart grants

Smart rounds had already shrunk from £25m to £15m in 2024. In January 2025 they were paused while Innovate UK redesigned its funding. A government written answer in December 2025 confirmed the pause and named the new Growth Catalyst programme, worth £130m, as the main route forward.

No Smart rounds ran in 2025 or 2026. Some advisers expect a narrower pilot successor, but nothing has been confirmed. Plan as if there is no open, sector-agnostic grant of around £300k available.

Growth Catalyst: the new route

Growth Catalyst combines grants, aligned private investment and support. It is focused on the government's growth sectors rather than any idea in any sector.

Early Stage: New Innovators

The 2025 round was built for businesses that had never had Innovate UK funding before.

	New Innovators (2025 round)
Grant	£25k to £50k
Funding rate	100% of eligible costs, 70% paid upfront
Project length	3 to 6 months
Who can lead	UK micro or small business, not previously funded by Innovate UK
Sectors	AI, semiconductors, advanced connectivity, quantum, engineering biology
Total pot	£10m, 194 projects funded

We have not seen confirmation of a 2026 round. Watch the Innovation Funding Service.

Investor Partnerships

Investor Partnerships suits businesses already raising investment.

Grants of up to £900k per company
70% of costs for feasibility and industrial research, 45% for experimental development
You need private investment from an approved Innovate UK Investor Partner, at least equal to the grant (or double it for experimental development)

Round 2 ran from December 2025 to February 2026 and is now closed.

Open now for AI businesses: BridgeAI

The BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst (AI for Operational Systems) is a £5m competition open from 21 October to 8 December 2026. It is collaborative: the lead must be a UK AI SME with a solution at technology readiness level 5 to 6, working with a medium or large UK organisation, or a UK public sector body, that will deploy it. The deployer has to work in one of seven sectors: health and life sciences, financial services, advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, defence, professional and business services, or creative industries. If your AI product fits one of those, this is worth a close look.

Other routes worth knowing

Digital Catapult accelerators fund digital twin, AI and immersive projects, often in pairs of a tech SME and an industry adopter. See our guide to funding a digital twin.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships fund a graduate to work on your project with a university, with Innovate UK covering up to 67% for SMEs. Further rounds are expected in November 2026 and February 2027.
Innovation Loans from Innovate UK accept expressions of interest.
R&D tax relief can return part of what you spend on development. See our guide to R&D tax relief for software.

What this means for your application

Without Smart, the bar has moved. Competitions are narrower, often collaborative, and increasingly tied to private investment. That rewards applicants who:

fit their product clearly into a named sector or challenge
have a partner or customer ready to pilot
can show a working prototype, not just a concept
have costed the project properly, including design, build and testing

If you are unsure whether your product fits a current competition, Innovate UK Business Connect offers free advice. If you need a scoped, costed plan or a prototype before you apply, talk to us.

Common questions

Are Innovate UK Smart grants coming back?

Not in their old form so far. Smart grants have been paused since January 2025 while Innovate UK redesigns its funding. Some advisers expect a narrower pilot successor, but there is no confirmed launch date.

What replaced Innovate UK Smart grants?

The government named Growth Catalyst, a £130m programme combining grants, aligned private investment and support, focused on Industrial Strategy growth sectors. Other competitions such as BridgeAI and Digital Catapult accelerators also fund innovation.

Can I still get an Innovate UK grant for a software product?

Yes, if the product fits an open competition. Most current calls are sector or technology specific, for example AI deployment or digital twins, rather than open to any idea.

Where do I find open Innovate UK competitions?

All competitions are listed on the Innovation Funding Service. Innovate UK Business Connect can also help you find the right call and partners.

Sources

Funding rules change often. Always check the funder’s own guidance before you apply. This article is general information, not financial advice.

Martin Chadwick is the founder of Third Eye Open, a design and engineering studio at Campfield House, Manchester. He has spent over fifteen years designing and building digital products, and runs TEO’s own products, TEO Sense and ScoreUX.