UK grants: UK Space Agency and Space Florida partnership call closes 11 January 2027; UKRI AI adoption call closes 1 December 2026

UK grants: UK Space Agency and Space Florida partnership call closes 11 January 2027; UKRI AI adoption call closes 1 December 2026

29 September 2026 — Two UK funding calls opened on 29 September 2026 on GOV.UK's Find a grant service. One funds partnerships between UK and Florida companies on space innovation. The other funds UK research organisations that want to adopt AI across science and engineering.

Not yet independently verified. Both calls are read on the government's own grant listings; no independent report was found. The opening date is used as the publication date because the listings carry no separate one. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

UK Space Agency and Space Florida Space Innovation Partnership

• Opens: 29 September 2026, 00:01. Closes: 11 January 2027, 15:00.
• Who can apply: a partnership of at least one for-profit UK company and one for-profit Florida company. Each side is funded by its own agency.
• Funding: the listing gives contributions of up to £75,000 from the UK Space Agency and up to $100,000 from Space Florida per project, for up to two projects.

The call is for joint projects that open commercial opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. UK software and data companies working on satellite data, ground systems or space-related services can use it to fund a first project with a Florida partner.

UKRI: Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering

• Opens: 29 September 2026, 09:00. Closes: 1 December 2026, 16:00.
• Who can apply: researchers based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding. Businesses cannot apply directly.
• Funding: a project's full economic cost can be up to £250,000, of which UKRI funds 80%. Projects last no more than one year, with a fixed start date.

The call funds research teams to bring AI methods into their disciplines. For software and AI companies, its value is indirect: universities funded under it will be looking for tools, platforms and partners.

What to do

1. UK space and data firms: find a Florida partner now. Building a partnership takes longer than writing the bid, and the deadline falls just after the holidays.
2. Check the eligibility rules on each listing in full before starting, especially the requirement that both partners be for-profit companies.
3. Software and AI vendors: speak to university research offices about AI adoption projects they plan to submit by 1 December, where your product could be part of the work.
4. Note that the times given are UK times.

Why it matters

Bilateral calls such as the UK–Florida partnership are a low-cost way for small companies to test a foreign market with a funded partner. The UKRI call is a signal of where public research money is going: into applying AI in practice, which creates demand for the tools that make it possible.

Sources

• GOV.UK Find a grant: UK Space Agency – Space Florida Space Innovation Partnership — 29 September 2026
• GOV.UK Find a grant: UKRI Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering — 29 September 2026