The UK Government has announced the first AI startups to receive backing to support homegrown founders, drive growth, and create new jobs across the country.
The first wave of funding marks the initial rollout of the £500m Sovereign AI programme, with a select group of startups gaining early access to capital, compute resources, and Government-backed support.
It also marks a broader push to turn early-stage innovations into scalable companies, ensuring that promising business ideas developed in the UK have the resources, infrastructure, and support needed to grow domestically rather than moving abroad.
What is Sovereign AI?
Sovereign AI is a £500m Government-backed unit that will invest directly into the UK’s most promising AI startups.
Launched last week, Sovereign AI acts as a venture capital (VC) fund – helping startups scale, while also offering support to compete. It also aims to cut back on the red tape that often holds business ideas back.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated in the Government’s press release: “Sovereign AI is unlike anything the Government has ever done before.
“Its unique approach will help break down the barriers that have too often held back British enterprise and innovation. This is how we ensure Britain’s economic and national security in the modern age.”
This latest move is part of the Government’s aims to help new AI businesses scale in the UK without having to leave as soon as they succeed, particularly as 5,940 business owners have left the country since January 2024. With AI technology predicted to boost GDP by £500bn by 2035, there’s a clear economic incentive for the UK to retain and scale its AI talent domestically.
What other support will AI startups get?
Beyond funding, Sovereign AI will also provide access to support that’s usually only available to larger tech organisations.
This includes fully funded access to the UK’s largest AI supercomputers, with up to 1 million GPU hours available per company.
For hiring, businesses looking for overseas talent will also receive visa decisions in just one working day, as well as access to 10 fully funded visas to bring leading international research and development (R&D) talent into the UK.
Startups will also receive hands-on support, including guidance on accessing data, securing early procurement opportunities, independent product validation, and clearer routes through new regulatory frameworks.
The Chancellor’s Entrepreneurship Advisor, Alex DePledge, said: “We don’t have a talent problem in the UK – we have a scale problem. The next wave of AI winners will come from countries that don’t just invent, but back their builders end-to-end.
“Sovereign AI is a shift in that direction: combining capital, compute and customers to give British founders a genuine platform to build globally competitive companies from day one.”
Which startups are receiving Sovereign AI backing?
The first company to receive this backing is Callosum – an AI which builds infrastructure to run AI across different types of computer chips (GPUs, CPUs, specialised AI chips, etc.) to make AI systems faster, cheaper and more flexible.
A further six startups will also receive compute allocations through the AI Research Resource (AIRR) supercomputer network to provide AI-specialised compute capacity.
This includes innovative AI companies like Doubleword, which helps businesses run and manage AI models inside their own systems, rather than relying on external Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) like OpenAI. Other companies include Prima Mente, Cosine, Cursive, Twig Bio, and Odyssey.
Meryem Arek, co-founder and CEO at Doubleword said: “We’re proud to see the UK government step up with real conviction on AI. This is the most consequential technological shift of our generation, and the nations that invest strategically now will define what the next decade looks like.
“SovAI has shown exactly the kind of urgent, clear-eyed ambition the moment demands – and the UK is better positioned for it.”
