Empowering scientists to reach for the edge of the possible

ARIA is a UK R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone.

Society’s most important advances have stemmed from those willing to think differently about what might be possible.

The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) empowers scientists and engineers, from our Programme Directors to the teams we fund, with the resources and freedom to pursue breakthroughs at the edge of the possible.

Many will fail to meet their target, but their efforts will inspire the next generation. Those that do succeed will generate massive social and economic returns.

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Opportunity spaces

Defined by our Programme Directors, ARIA opportunity spaces are highly consequential for society; under-explored relative to their potential impact; and ripe for new talent, perspectives, or resources to change what’s possible. Each opportunity space represents fertile ground we'll harvest for technical breakthroughs through programme and seed funding.

Scalable Neural Interfaces

Programme: Precision Neurotechnologies

Neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders have enormous social and economic impacts. What if we could solve the mysteries of neurological disorders and mental health by interfacing with the brain in new ways?

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Introducing our second cohort of Programme Directors

Following a global open call and joining from the UK, Europe, and the USA, these new eight technology leaders bring proven track records in building ventures, communities, and technologies with significant societal and economic impact. They’ll now help drive our work into entirely new scientific domains.

Meet the new PDs

Open calls

Programme Funding

'Late' TA2 Phase 1 applications

In TA2, we will award £18m to a non-profit entity to develop critical machine learning capabilities, requiring strong organisational governance and security standards. TA2 will explore leveraging securely-boxed AI to train autonomous control systems that can be verified against mathematical models, improving performance and robustness. The workflow will involve forking and fine-tuning mainstream pre-trained frontier AI models to create verifiably safeguarded AI solutions. To apply, follow the same instructions as for Phase 1 (see the call for proposals), but limit the submission to 3 pages instead of 4 pages. Email clarifications@aria.org.uk to get an individual application link.

Learn more about the funding call Get your application link Read the call for proposals

Opportunity space

Mathematics for Safe AI

Programme Director

David 'davidad' Dalrymple

Application Date

17 August 2025