As the year draws to a close and we look ahead to 2026, now is the perfect time to position your business for growth. Innovate UK has reopened its Innovation Loans, alongside a range of exciting opportunities in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, antiviral medicine, and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Below is an array of upcoming funding opportunities that you should keep on your radar to help your business in its next stages of growth. If you’re not sure on how to get started with your application for funding, don’t forget you can contact our team for help.
Ongoing Funding Support
Government Loans
Start Up Loans
Start Up Loans offer £500 to £25,000 in government-backed finance, paired with 12 months of free mentoring and practical business support. The programme is aimed at founders who are starting a business or have been trading for less than 3 years. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Who should apply: Founders starting a new business or been trading for less than 3 years
Equity Investment
GC Angels
GC Angels provides early-stage equity investment and co-investment alongside private angel investors. The organisation focuses on supporting businesses with high-growth potential, with particular interest in digital, creative and technology sectors. Funding enquiries can be submitted throughout the year.
Who should apply: Entrepreneurs based in the North.
Innovation Funding Opportunities (Closing January)
Innovate UK Innovation Loans Round 24
UK registered businesses can apply for loans for close to market innovative projects with strong commercial potential. They must significantly improve the UK economy and drive societal benefit.
Deadline: 7 January 2026 11:00am
Who should apply: UK registered SME’s carrying out their project in the UK and intending to exploit the results from or in the UK.
Isambard-AI and Dawn AIRR supercomputers: Innovator route
Apply for up to 150,000 graphics processing unit (GPU) hours on the Isambard-AI and Dawn supercomputers for artificial intelligence (AI) related research and development projects.
Deadline: 16 January 2026, 4:00pm
Who should apply: Researchers working in industry conducting AI related research and development.
Eureka GlobalStars Japan 2026
UK organisations can apply for funding to collaborate on industrial research projects with partners in Eureka member countries and Japan.
Deadline: 21 January 2026, 11:00am
Who should apply: Businesses with collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research developed between the UK, Japan and the other Eureka participating countries.
Sustained Viral Resilience
Backed by £46m, this programme seeks to create a new class of medicines that provide durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viruses by engineering the innate immune system.
Deadline: 22 January 2026, 2:00pm
Who should apply: Applications are welcomed from interdisciplinary teams bridging fields like synthetic biology, systems immunology, materials chemistry, and AI, as well as regulatory science, health economics, and science communication.
The MacRobert Award
The MacRobert Award honours the winning organisation with a gold medal, and the team members a cash prize of £50,000. The presentation of the Award recognises outstanding innovation, tangible societal benefit and proven commercial success.
Deadline: 31st January 2026
Who should apply: Applications are welcomed from engineering innovations in any area of engineering, applied science, technology or medicine
Innovation Funding Opportunities (Closing March)
Increasing EV charging capacity on the strategic road network
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £10 million. The funding is for the development and demonstration of solutions to increase public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging provision for longer journeys on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Deadline: Wednesday 25 March 2026 11:00am
Who should apply: UK registered businesses with innovative whole systems concepts which address short to medium term grid and operational constraints to EV charging provision.
Get in touch
Please contact us at 0161 3593050 or query below.
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