Photonics grants in the United Kingdom

Between cycles

Funding for Norway-based project co-leads in UK-led research applications.

Between cycles

Flexible funding for strategic engineering and physical sciences research programmes.

Between cycles

Supports Strathclyde community teams building entrepreneurial skills through a practical team challenge program.

Between cycles

Part-funded innovation projects between businesses and academic partners.

Between cycles

Supports Regional EDGE programmes for early-stage Scottish businesses across four regions via local delivery partners.

Between cycles

Funds UK founders starting or growing a young business with a government-backed personal loan and 12 months of mentoring.

Between cycles

Supports women founders with a focused programme of mentorship and investor readiness for startup growth.

Between cycles

Supports scaling Scottish technology businesses with hybrid grant-loan funding and growth recognition.

Closed

Turn a public sector research asset into something a market will pay for.

Closed

Supports early-stage founders from Commonwealth countries with mentoring, masterclasses, and investor-facing acceleration.

Closed

Funding for entrepreneurship-focused doctoral training and venture creation.

Closed

Pays up to £5,000 to teams solving real-world problems with probabilistic computing.

Closed

Pays UK university ventures, startups and SMEs a share of £150,000 in equity-free cash prizes through a national pitching competition.

Closed

Awards UK tech innovators cash prizes after free workshops and live pitching.

Closed

Flexible early-stage funding for research organisations to progress research impact.

Closed

Awards UK-incorporated innovators up to £650,000 in total -- up to £100,000 as a Finalist, then up to £550,000 more as a Winner -- to develop and scale an innovation for the water sector in England and Wales.

Closed

Funds early-stage water-sector innovations with staged seed funding for finalists and winners.

Closed

Offers non-dilutive financing for United Kingdom firms to scale late-stage innovation when standard debt is unavailable.

Closed

Funds Northern Ireland businesses accessing knowledge-provider expertise through GBP 5K innovation vouchers.

Open

Funds a company and an academic group working as one team to turn an imaging, spectroscopy or data-science advance into something usable in the clinic.

Open

Funds innovators from any country developing near-term defence technology prototypes at TRL 6 or 7 through the MOD Defence Innovation Fund.

Open

Provides Massachusetts startup teams access to advanced prototyping and fabrication through MIT.nano collaboration.

Between cycles

Funds organisations worldwide developing novel defence and security innovations across any technology area from TRL 1 to TRL 8.

Between cycles

Pays up to $10,000 to photonics startups pitching at Photonics West 2027.