The UK government has announced that it will invest significantly in public research and development, directing billions of pounds to high-priority technologies and fast-growing companies to accelerate economic growth through UKRI
The investment package is led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It forms a key part of the government’s commitment to modern industrial renewal.
Billions directed into high-impact technologies
Under UKRI’s record £38.6 billion settlement, funding will be concentrated explicitly in areas where the UK already has substantial scientific and commercial advantages.
Around £9 billion is being allocated to areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and engineering biology. These sectors are seen as key to unlocking breakthroughs in healthcare, clean energy, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.
The government is significantly increasing support for engineering biology, nearly tripling its funding to £644 million, while investment in AI will more than double to £1.6 billion.
Projections from international economic bodies suggest that advances in AI could deliver substantial productivity gains for the UK over the coming decade, while quantum technology is forecast to provide multi-billion-pound contributions to national GDP in the years ahead.
Targeted support for growing companies
A further £7 billion will be directed at helping innovative companies scale and establish themselves as global leaders in fast-emerging sectors. The aim is to ensure that businesses with high growth potential can start, expand, and remain in the country.
This approach follows the success of firms such as Paragraf, a Cambridge-based graphene innovator supporting cleaner transport and medical tech; IFast, a diagnostics company advancing rapid detection of antibiotic resistance; and Ceres Power, a fuel-cell technology leader employing hundreds and contributing to the UK’s clean energy transition.
Funding aligning with national priorities
As well as supporting breakthrough technologies and high-growth businesses, the government will allocate £8 billion to research aligned with national priorities, including climate resilience, flood defence, and areas identified in the Modern Industrial Strategy. The intention is to focus public investment on fewer, more targeted themes to deliver greater impact for taxpayers and better long-term economic results.
A separate £14 billion will continue to support curiosity-driven research, maintaining the UK’s foundational scientific strength and its capacity for discovery-led innovation. Universities will benefit from increased funding for research and commercialisation, rising in line with inflation over the next three academic years.
Addressing the UKRI Growth Summit in London, Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:
“Scientific research and development is fundamental to building a better Britain: from new treatments for cancer, to breakthroughs in clean, affordable energy.”
“There is no route to stronger growth in this country, no answer to how we pay our way, or compete with the rest of the world, without science, technology and innovation leading front and centre.”
Getting world-leading researchers on board
A big part of the UK government’s growth strategy is an improved emphasis on international talent. Through the £54 million Global Talent Fund, four leading researchers have already relocated to the UK, bringing with them teams specialising in dementia research, child and adolescent psychiatry, plant–insect interactions, and advanced brain-mapping technologies.
The fund aims to attract 60-80 world-class individuals to key sectors such as life sciences and digital technologies. It forms part of more than £115 million being invested across multiple schemes designed to strengthen the UK’s position as a global hub for scientific excellence.
Measures to support the research ecosystem
Other initiatives accompany the major funding announcements. This includes launching the search for a new Chair of the UKRI Board, setting new R&D missions in construction and creative infrastructure, opening Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards, and tripling investment in the UK’s Metascience Unit to improve efficiency in how research funding is delivered.
