BridgeAI

BridgeAI

Supports artificial intelligence adoption in agriculture, construction, creative, and transport sectors.

BridgeAI is an Innovate UK programme designed to help UK businesses in four high-growth, low-AI-adoption sectors harness artificial intelligence to boost productivity and competitiveness. The programme operates across three channels — connecting businesses with AI experts and innovation communities, co-creating trusted AI services and technologies, and up-skilling workforces through training and scientific expertise access. The four target sectors are agriculture and food processing, construction, creative industries, and transport, logistics, and warehousing. Delivery is provided by a consortium of national institutions: Digital Catapult, the Hartree Centre (STFC), the Alan Turing Institute, and BSI Group.

Funding is provided through rolling competition rounds listed on the Innovate UK competition portal under the BridgeAI label. Award amounts, eligibility criteria, and deadlines are defined per competition rather than at programme level, so there is no single fixed grant size. Non-cash support — including an AI Adoption Framework structured across four phases, mentoring, and networking — is available independently of the grant competitions. Both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations based in the UK may apply; specific eligibility for each round is published on the Innovate UK portal at the time of competition launch.

Applicants with the strongest outcomes demonstrate a clear, sector-specific AI adoption challenge within one of the four target verticals and a credible plan for deploying AI to measurable productivity ends. Organisations that have already engaged with BridgeAI's non-cash support — such as the AI Adoption Framework — are better positioned to articulate a funded project scope aligned with the programme's strategic objectives. Monitoring the Innovate UK competition finder filtered for BridgeAI is the recommended approach for tracking live call openings.