Innovate UK BridgeAI, Digital Catapult

Digital Catapult / Innovate UK

Information last verified: April 2026

Stage

Early revenue, Scaling

Location

Equity

No equity taken

Cost

Free

Delivery

Virtual

AI / SaaSDeep techCleantech

Early revenueScaling

Government-backed equity-free AI accelerator for startups building AI solutions for traditional industries: construction, transport, agrifood, and creative sectors. Delivered by Digital Catapult for Innovate UK's BridgeAI programme. Multiple cohorts per year, each targeting a specific sector challenge with dedicated industry challenge owners (e.g. TfL, Nestlé, Foster + Partners). 14-week programme with £18k in state assistance eligibility, cloud credits, and AI tooling.

Why this programme

Find customers / partnerships

Work directly with major industry challenge owners like TfL, Nestlé, Dale Farm and Foster + Partners to pilot your AI solution

Build product / validate MVP

Access to MLOps tooling, computational resources and Applied AI Suite to accelerate data and product readiness

Raise funding

Eligibility for up to £18k in state assistance; showcase to investors at sector-specific demo days

Scale & grow

Industry challenge owners like TfL and Nestle provide direct enterprise customer channels for AI companies ready to scale into traditional sectors

Interested in Innovate UK BridgeAI, Digital Catapult?

Head to their website for current cohort dates and how to apply.

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