Autumn Statement 2023 – Fresh support for UK innovation

Key announcements for innovative firms include:

AI-innovation

Hunt announced that £500 million will be available over the next two years to fund new AI innovation centres. This funding aims to provide UK scientists and AI researchers with cutting-edge computing power to promote groundbreaking discoveries. The initiative supports AI start-ups and SME’s, which can position the UK as a global hub for AI innovation. It comes on top of the government’s initial £900m commitment to AI funding announced last year. 

The UK is taking a leading role in this area, having hosted the world’s first AI Safety Summit in November and the additional investment will place the UK research base in a strong position to exploit this technology in order to advance innovation and discovery. The Manchester Prize will also be launched, which will award prizes of up to £1 million to researchers working on the safe, responsible application of AI over the next 10 years.

Quantum computing

The chancellor unveiled a new set of ‘quantum missions’ to solidify the UK’s leadership in quantum tech as part of the government’s ongoing £2.4 billion ten-year National Quantum Strategy. This includes efforts to develop deploying accessible quantum computers, pioneering the quantum internet, integrating quantum sensing into the NHS, implementing quantum navigation systems, and utilising mobile, medical applications, networked quantum sensors for infrastructure. By 2035, the government aims to have deployed the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale, pioneering the future quantum internet.

Grant innovation

The government announced ambitious investments of over £750 million in UK R&D. These investments include new business innovation support, and support to establish a National Academy focused on mathematical science. The investment aims to ensure the research, development and innovation organisational landscape will be diverse, resilient, and investable. A £145 million investment through UKRI will support the business innovation ecosystem and boost areas of strategic advantage through the UK. 

University spinout

University spinouts are some of the UK’s most innovative companies and play a hugely important role for the UK economy, with investment increasing almost five-fold since 2014. The government is supporting the innovation-friendly policies and is providing £20 million for a new cross-disciplinary research funding scheme to create more spin-out companies, streamlining processes, and encouraging investment. To capitalise on this strength, the government is accepting all the recommendations of the Independent Review of Spinouts and setting out how it will deliver them.

What to do next

It’s likely that we will see a focus of grant competitions in the areas covered in the budget. Therefore, if your business has an innovative project that needs support, we recommend you get your draft application prepared. We can help businesses plan for submission of a grant application and ensure that you pick the right competition for your funding needs. Please get in touch if you would like to explore how we can help you with your next grant application.