Innovate UK Venture Builder Pilot Expression of Interest

Who can apply

Your project

For this EoI competition, your spin-out must:

• be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) created in the last 24 months (if you are not an SME you must be formally incorporated by 20 August 2026)

• be led by an applicant who has completed the ICURe Exploit programme, or an equivalent market and customer validation equivalent programme, in the last 24 months

• have a signed supporting statement either from your Technology Transfer Office (TTO) or ICURe Delivery Partner or an equivalent programme provider

• have already undergone rigorous market and customer validation

• be defined as having the Intellectual Property created and exploited from UK Universities, Public Sector Research Establishments or Research Institutes

• focus on at least one of the three specified UK Government Industrial Strategy technology sectors

• not have received more than £100,000 in investor funding, including any Convertible Loan Notes, University or TTO investment

• be able to fulfil the eligibility criteria for stage two if successful

For stage two of this competition, your spin-out must:

• have a grant funding request of up to £150,000

• start by 1 October 2026

• end by 30 June 2027

If you are successful at stage two of the competition, you must work with your university or Technology Transfer Office, to complete all the necessary arrangements. We call this step 'company hygiene' that ensures you are ready to start the Venture Builder programme in October, 2026.

See the Background and Further Information section for more detail on the scope of activities under the technology sectors, market traction evidence requirements and qualifying as an ICURe equivalent programme.

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead organisation

Your spin-out must have a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise in the last 24 months or must be formally incorporated by 20 August 2026.

We cannot fund spin-outs that have previously received an ICURe Exploit follow-on fund grant.

If you are already an established spin-out, that has received more than £100,000 of investor funding, including any Convertible Loan Notes, University or TTO investment, you are not eligible for this competition.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

Subcontractors costs must not be greater than 70% of the total projects costs.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must also provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you.

We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

Number of applications

A spin-out can only make one application to this competition.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to Innovate UK in relation to other projects.

Minimal Financial Assistance (and de minimis where applicable)

No funding is awarded at this EoI stage. Successful applicants from this EoI stage will be invited to a second stage where they will be asked to submit a full application.

Grant funding in the second stage of this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period.

If you are successful in the EoI stage, in stage two you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.

To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’.

The applicable period is made up of:

(a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and

(b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under:

• Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights)

• de minimis regulation

You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

EU Commission rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations.

When making an application to this Venture Builder competition, please be mindful of the MFA restrictions, meaning any awards will impact your total MFA allowance for the next three fiscal years.

Funding

For stage two of this competition, a minimum of £3.75 million has been allocated to support spin-outs and to help them in raising their first significant investment. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

For the full stage competition your total project costs will be eligible for up to 100% funding subject to MFA subsidy rules.

If you are applying for an award funded under European Commission Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to close the gap between validated customer discovery and investment readiness by supporting spin-outs to become investor‑ready companies and secure their first investment.

The Venture Builder Programme will support newly spun out companies with early characteristics of high-growth potential.

This could include companies:

• being driven by disruptive innovation

• requiring significant investment backing

• developing specialised technology, and aiming for rapid scalability

Your spin-out must:

• have a grant funding request of up to £150,000 when applying for stage two of this competition

• use the funding specifically for activities that help grow the business into an investable proposition

• include spend that either creates a proof point that an investor can assess, or removes a specific barrier that would prevent you from raising your first round

• provide evidence of good market traction from at least one potential customer, partner or industrial collaborator

• have Intellectual Property that is created and exploited from UK universities, Public Sector Research Establishments or Research Institutes

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets and technology sectors. We call this a portfolio approach.

Industrial Strategy technology sectors

Your project must focus on one or more of the following Industrial Strategy technology sectors:

• Frontier AI

• Engineering Biology

• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding spin-outs that:

• do not focus on at least one of the specified competition sectors

• are led by an applicant who has not completed the ICURe Exploit programme, or an equivalent market and customer validation equivalent programme, in the last two years

• have received more than £100,000 of investor funding, including any Convertible Loan Notes, university or Technology Transfer Office (TTO) investment

• have previously received an ICURe Exploit follow-on fund grant

• are not a UK registered company formally incorporated by 20 August 2026

• are associated with a spin-out that does not hold the intellectual property (ideas, information, knowledge) generated by a UK university, Public Sector Research Establishments or Research Institute

We cannot fund projects that:

• involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture

• involve primary production in agriculture

• are not allowed under de minimis regulation restrictions

• are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance

• are dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country

• are dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product

3 June 2026

Applicants notified

1 October 2026

Project start from

No submission deadline

This is open-ended competition and applications can be submitted at any time.

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

• that you have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

What we ask you

The application is split into two sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. Any website addresses or URLs included, will not be viewed or opened.

Application team

Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, and potential start date.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be eligible for this competition.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 13. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. Any website addresses or URLs included, will not be viewed or opened.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored)

You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Question 7. Industrial Strategy technology sector (not scored)

Does your innovation address one or more of the following three Industrial Strategy technology sectors: From the following list you must state all relevant sectors in the text box:

• Frontier AI

• Engineering Biology

• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing

Your answer can be up to 20 words long.

Question 8. UK registered company (not scored)

Are you on track to have your company incorporated and capitalisation table principles agreed with your university and Technology Transfer Office by August 20th, 2026.

You must select one option:

• Yes, incorporated already

• In progress and on track to be incorporated before this date

• No

Note: if you select no to this question, you will be made ineligible.

Question 9. Spin-out declaration (not scored)

Does your organisation meet this competitions definition of a spin-out? In this competition, a spin‑out is a company based on intellectual property Intellectual Property created by a UK universities, Public Sector Research Establishments or Research Institutes.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Note: if you select no to this question, you will be made ineligible.

Question 10. Supporting statement to participate in the Venture Builder Programme (not scored)

Include a signed supporting statement either from your Technology Transfer Office or ICURe Delivery Partner or an equivalent programme provider that you are able to commit and make use of the 9 month venture builder programme?

Your answer to this question must be “appendix uploaded”.

You must submit evidence of the supporting statement. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Your answer can be up to 50 words long.

Question 11. Amount of investor funding (not scored)

If you are already an established spin-out, that has received more than £100,000 of investor funding, including any Convertible Loan Notes, University or Technology Transfer Office (TTO) investment, you’re not eligible for this competition.

You must select one option to confirm whether or not you are eligible:

• Yes

• No

Note: if you select yes to this question, you will be made ineligible.

Question 12. ICURe Exploit or equivalent Programme (not scored)

Have you participated and finished an ICURe Exploit or equivalent market and customer validation programme in the last 2 years?

You must type your answer in the comment box:

• Yes

• No

If yes, you must provide detail of the equivalent programme you have been involved in.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 13. ICURe Exploit grant funding (not scored)

If you have participated in ICURe Exploit, have you received an ICURe Exploit follow-on-fund grant previously?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Note: if you have not participated in ICURe Exploit you must select no to this answer

Question 14. Evidence of market traction

Describe your strongest engagement with a potential customer, partner, or industrial collaborator that demonstrates real market traction. Demonstrate the scope of the activity or work that has been committed to, timelines for this and key milestones of what will be delivered.

You must include the full name and job title of your primary contact. What decision making or budget level authority they have over this engagement?

Describe and explain the organisation you are working with, and what they have specifically committed to working on with you.

Provide detail on this commitment, on the scope, timeline and milestones.

This can include but is not limited to:

• paid trials

• pilots

• co-development agreements

• formal evaluation

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by three internal assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria:

Innovate UK Venture Builder Pilot EOI assessor guidance V2.pdf (opens in a new window)

Background and further information

Qualifying as an ICURe Programme equivalent programme

To qualify you must:

• have an equivalent programme to ICURe that have supported your research-based project or spin-out

• be able to evidence a value proposition and development of a business model that has been achieved by a formal market and customer validation journey with associated skills and learning

Innovate UK Venture Builder Pilot Scope and Market Traction Evidence.pdf (opens in a new window)

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is operated by Innovate UK.

Innovate UK is directly accountable to you for its holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with our own policies.

Innovate UK may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.