Could AI help prove software is secure? We're backing eight teams to test AI-enabled formal methods in real systems. Plus: a new £60m Robot Locomotion programme, Creator stories and opportunities across ARIA. Read October's update: https://bit.ly/47M8GTa

Proof, pulse and possibility

Our October update

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We are now accepting full proposals for the second phase of our Forecasting Tipping Points programme, which is looking to build on our understanding of the science of climate tipping points towards a usable early warning system for the North Atlantic. Apply by 2 Dec: link.aria.org.uk/FTP-funding

Funding | Resilient Climate and Ecosystems

Learn more about funding in ARIA's Forecasting Tipping Points programme.

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Wheels fail on rubble. Drones run out of range. Legged robots can’t reliably operate beyond warehouses. Backed by £60m, our Robot Locomotion programme’s call backs teams building robot bodies that can operate beyond the limits of today’s machines. Concept papers by 4 Dec: https://bit.ly/4Bfekuh

Funding | Robot Locomotion

Explore funding in the Robot Locomotion programme.

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Our Robot Dexterity programme is now backed by £88.5m, with the expansion focused on bringing hardware components together into systems that work in the field. First call: proposals for benchmarks, standards, and shared capabilities that make dexterous robots easier to develop and deploy.

Our Robot Dexterity programme is now backed by £88.5m, with the expansion focused on bringing hardware components together into systems that work in the field. First call: proposals for benchmarks, standards, and shared capabilities that make dexterous robots easier to develop and deploy.

We’ve funded 19 teams with the aim of making the mitochondrial genome programmable in vivo, but progress depends on them being able to reproduce and build on one another’s methods. We’re inviting proposals from teams who can make that exchange work. Proposals by 9 Nov: https://bit.ly/4yfOjIu

Funding | Precision Mitochondria

Backed by at least £55m, this programme sits within the Programmable Physiology opportunity space and aims to create a foundational toolkit for engineering the mitochondrial genome in vivo. Learn more...

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Meet the 11 teams we’re backing in Universal Fabricators. They’ll develop scalable processes that use proteins to assemble inorganic and composite materials, from optical fibres to magnets. Find out more here: link.aria.org.uk/UF-Creators

With the capability to coordinate securely, AI agents could act reliably on our behalf, unlocking a whole range of interactions that were previously inaccessible. Meet the first teams we’re backing to build the open-source tools to make it happen: https://link.aria.org.uk/ST-Creators

Funded projects | Scaling Trust

Explore the projects we're funding in the Scaling Trust opportunity space.

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Applications to become an ARIA Programme Director close on Monday, 28 September. If you have a vision for how science and technology can change the world – and the conviction to pursue it – we want to hear from you. Don’t miss out – apply now: aria.org.uk/become-a-programme-director

AI-enabled cyber attacks are getting faster + going further. But what if AI-enabled formal methods could make high-assurance cyber defence practical at unprecedented speed + scale? We’re funding eight teams with £22m to test that idea. Meet them here: link.aria.org.uk/SAI-TA2-Crea...

Big ideas need more than funding. Today, five new Activation Partners join ARIA, bringing engineering, AI for Science and translation capabilities into our opportunity spaces. Meet Adaptyv Bio, Open Athena, Newlab, Edinburgh Genome Foundry and BioInnovation Institute: https://bit.ly/4cSxz2u

From new techniques to protect trees and amphibians from disease, to governance approaches for novel ecological interventions, meet the teams who are exploring how we can expand our conservation toolkit as part of our Accelerated Adaptation programme: link.aria.org.uk/AA-Creators

Funded projects | Accelerated Adaptation

Explore the project we're funding in the Accelerated Adaptation programme.

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We are now accepting concept papers for the second phase of our Forecasting Tipping Points programme, which is looking to build on understanding of the science of climate tipping points towards a usable early warning system for the North Atlantic. Apply by 9 October: link.aria.org.uk/FTP-funding

Funding | Resilient Climate and Ecosystems

Learn more about funding in ARIA's Forecasting Tipping Points programme.

link.aria.org.uk

Ahead of announcing our new Activation Partners next week, we’re reflecting on what our founding cohort has made possible. Nine partners. New tools, talent pathways, ventures, institutions and communities — all helping ambitious R&D move. Watch the video and find out more: https://bit.ly/3UVw2m3

From hypothesis to headway: what our founding Activation Partners have made possible

Ahead of introducing our new cohort of Activation Partners next week, we’re looking at what our founding cohort has made possible — from new companies and research organisations to bespoke tools, tale...

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Meet the 18 R&D Creator teams we’re backing with £70m to develop aircraft that could deliver connectivity from the stratosphere. From rotorcraft to power beaming and gravity-wave soaring, they’re aiming to keep communications payloads aloft above the UK for a week. https://bit.ly/4rf2SKz

Funded projects | Enduring Atmospheric Platforms

Explore the projects we're funding in the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme.

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Two years ago, we set out to help new AI-compute systems make it from the bench to real workloads. Read the story of Scaling Compute: https://bit.ly/4gLROkL We’re now hiring a Director for the Scaling Inference Lab to lead its next phase. Apply: https://bit.ly/46OG8HT

The future of novel compute

The success of our Scaling Compute programme and Scaling Inference Lab have shown how exploring novel computing paradigms and translating them into real-world systems is only becoming more vital.

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Meet the 19 teams we’re funding in Precision Mitochondria. They’ll work on developing a genetic toolbox to make mitochondria programmable for the first time, empowering scientists to robustly investigate the link between mitochondrial health + disease. Find out more here: link.aria.org.uk/jz4

Funded projects | Precision Mitochondria

We're funding 19 teams of world-leading experts spanning fields from mitochondrial and engineering biology to nanotechnology. Explore the projects we're funding in the Precision Mitochondria programme.

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Applications are now open to become a Programme Director, and we’re sharing some of the ideas you may find percolating around the ARIA office that are exciting us. These aren't fully-baked concepts, but intended to spark your ambition. Explore more on our website: link.aria.org.uk/PDC3-sparks

Could machines learn to smell? 👃 In our August update: → Building a digital sense of smell → Frontier AI meets 160+ ARIA Creators → Student rockets take climate sensors skywards → New funding + Programme Director opportunities Read more: https://bit.ly/4zGP3bM

As part of our next cohort of Programme Directors, we welcome applications for co-Programme Directors whose combined strengths would shape more ambitious programme leadership. Learn more about being a co-PD and apply by 28 September: link.aria.org/PDC3-coPD

Applications are now open for our third cohort of Programme Directors. Design and direct a research programme of around £50m within our newly evolved opportunity spaces. Decide which directions matter most and fund the teams to pursue them. Apply by 28 September: https://bit.ly/4g4OQY4

Do you have a vision for how science and technology could change the world? Applications to become an ARIA Programme Director open at 3pm on Monday 17 August. Let’s build the future, together.

Can we teach machines to smell? Digital olfaction lacks the shared dataset that transformed vision + language. In Olfactory Perception, we'll fund teams to design + build the Open Olfactory Resource: a cross-domain dataset of volatile chemical signals. Apply by 30 Sep: link.aria.org.uk/OP-fp-BS

Funding

Learn more about funding in the Hypersensory Intelligence – Olfactory Perception programme.

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We’re excited to appoint David Lewis as Chief Science and Technology Officer. In this role, David will guide and mentor our Programme Directors as they develop ambitious programmes, strengthen ARIA’s technical culture and help us attract bold new talent and ideas into our ecosystem.

Our latest programme thesis, Ubiquitous Particle Profiling, proposes the development of compact, autonomous systems that can determine the size, shape and composition of airborne particulate matter in real time and trace it back to its source. Learn more: link.aria.org.uk/UPP-thesis-BS

Ubiquitous Particle Profiling | Programme development

Learn more about Ubiquitous Particle Profiling, a new programme we're developing in the Adaptive Machines opportunity space.

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Today we're sharing seven evolved opportunity spaces that reflect what we've learned in our first 3 years about the scientific frontiers where breakthroughs could fundamentally expand what's possible. Explore them here: https://aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces

Opportunity spaces

Explore ARIA’s Opportunity Spaces. Dive into our work on AI, viral resilience, ecosystem engineering, climate and more to see how we’re defining the next frontier of science.

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What if we organised research around the future technologies we want to create? On Monday at 3pm, we'll share how we're organising our research going forward, and the areas we believe could deliver the greatest breakthroughs for humanity.

From Arctic batteries to robot fingertips Our latest Substack explores the tools and collaborations behind ambitious science — from bespoke hardware built by Amodo Design, to Encode’s AI for Science Fellows, and tactile sensing for robotic hands. Read more: https://bit.ly/4vXV7tq

From Arctic batteries to robot fingertips

Dive into our July update

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Today we’ve published our 2026 Corporate Plan. Three years in, we’ve committed £500m+ across 14 programmes, backing 200+ R&D Creator teams. In 2026, we’ll continue to strengthen pathways that turn bold ideas into transformative breakthroughs. Read the full plan: aria.org.uk/media/nwffke...

"The data is there – it just can’t be used.” Explore the journey of how Clouds Decoded became Earth Compress – a £7 million project tackling a bottleneck that could unlock an entire class of currently infeasible environmental science. Read the full piece. https://bit.ly/44KNP0L

Doubling down on Earth-scale data

Explore the journey of how Clouds Decoded, a Scoping Our Planet opportunity seed, became Earth Compress – a £7million project tackling a bottleneck that could unlock an entire class of currently infeasible environmental science.

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