Photonics grants in the United Kingdom

Open

Funds Northern Ireland businesses planning R&D projects through Invest NI project-definition support.

Open

Funds Northern Ireland SMEs using technical service providers through Invest NI innovation support.

Open

Funds United Kingdom small companies with EDGE growth loans for scalable innovation.

Open

Funds Scottish SMEs extending academic collaborations through SFC-backed student placement vouchers.

Between cycles

Supports United Kingdom technology scale-up through a hybrid programme for growth firms with either raised capital or active revenue.

Between cycles

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 high-risk clinical trials of new ways to see inside the living human inner ear. A trial is compulsory, and NIH stays in the room.

Open

Funds building the imaging that can finally show hair cells and membranes inside a living human ear. A clinical trial is optional.

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

Pays photonics startups up to $10,000 for pitching live at SPIE Photonics West.

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.