Ageiro ARK, the Project Intelligence Platform for AECO

News · Innovate UK BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst

Put AI to work on your design decisions, with Innovate UK funding

Ageiro is applying to Innovate UK’s BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst with ARK, our AI Project Intelligence Platform for AECO. We’re looking for one UK architecture practice, engineering consultancy or design-led contractor to partner with us and test ARK on your own projects.

Register your interestCheck if you qualify

One partner. One feasibility project. Up to 60% of your costs covered.

Funder

Innovate UK (UKRI)

Applications close

8 Dec 2026, 11am

Project window

Apr to Aug 2027

Grant on partner costs

Up to 60%

What the competition is

Funding for AI that supports consequential decisions.

BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision Critical Systems is run by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. It is investing up to £5 million in this first phase.1

It funds a UK AI company and an organisation that will use its product to move a working AI solution beyond pilots and towards real-world deployment.1

The competition funds AI that supports decisions with real consequences for the organisation using it.1 In AECO, those are the design, risk, coordination and compliance decisions that shape a project, not admin tasks. ARK supports those decisions, and your people stay in command of them.

What Innovate UK will not fund

Generic productivity tools, or AI that sits on the edge of a firm’s core work.3 The project therefore centres on how your teams make decisions.

Who can partner with us

Three requirements for the deployer role.

Ageiro leads the application as the AI company. Our partner joins as the deployer: the organisation that will use ARK. Innovate UK sets three requirements for that role.2

UK-registered

A UK-registered business, carrying out the project work in the UK.2

Medium or large

The deployer must be a medium or large business.2 A company counts as small if it meets two of: turnover up to £15 million, balance sheet up to £7.5 million, up to 50 employees.7 As a rule of thumb, you qualify with more than 50 staff or more than £15 million turnover.

An eligible sector

The deployer must work in one of seven Industrial Strategy sectors.2 Architectural and engineering activities fall under Professional and Business Services, and architecture also falls under Creative Industries.6

Contractors: Construction is classed separately from the eligible sectors.6 If your design team is a core part of your business, get in touch and we will confirm eligibility with Innovate UK.

What the partner commits to

  • Access to the people, data, workflows and systems the project needs
  • Helping shape the use case and its technical, governance and assurance requirements
  • 30% to 50% of the project’s total eligible costs, part-covered by grant
  • Willingness to continue into later phases if invited2

Too small to be the deployer but interested?

The project needs letters of support from organisations that may join later phases.1 We would be glad to hear from you.

Book a call

What we would do together

Build the evidence, assess readiness, demonstrate ARK on your data.

Phase 1 is a three to five month feasibility project.2 Together we would:

Build the evidence

An evidence-based case for how ARK supports decisions in your design and delivery process.

Assess readiness

How ready both teams are, covering data, systems, governance and assurance.

Demonstrate ARK

ARK on representative data from your projects, towards the end of the project.1

Successful projects can be invited to Phase 2, deployment preparation (around six months, up to £1 million grant), and Phase 3, live deployment and roll-out to two more organisations (around 22 months, up to £2 million).5 These figures are indicative.1

How the grant covers your costs

Mostly your team’s time, part-funded by Innovate UK.

Your eligible project costs are part-funded by Innovate UK grant.2 The project must have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £200,000. Your firm carries 30% to 50% of the project’s total eligible costs, and Innovate UK refunds up to 60% of that share.2

Medium business

Up to 60% grant2

Up to 250 staff, up to £54m turnover.7 On £80,000 of your eligible costs, that is up to £48,000 of grant.

Large business

Up to 50% grant2

Over 250 staff or over £54m turnover. On £80,000 of your eligible costs, that is up to £40,000 of grant.

The £80,000 example is illustrative. Your actual costs and grant depend on the project budget we agree together. The balance is your co-investment, usually staff time.

Timeline

From first call to project end.

  1. Now to 20 Nov 2026Talk to us and agree the use case
  2. 8 Dec 2026, 11amApplications close4
  3. 1 Feb 2027Applicants notified4
  4. 1 Apr 2027Latest project start4
  5. 31 Aug 2027Latest project end2

Funding is competitive and not every high-scoring application is funded.1

Interested?

Let’s talk before 20 November.

Building a strong application takes a few weeks, so we would like to agree a partner by 20 November 2026. A short call is enough to see if it is a fit.

Book a call
hello@ageiro.global

Sources

Every claim on this page links to the official source. Competition details as published on the Innovation Funding Service, checked 2 November 2026.

  1. Innovate UK, BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision Critical Systems, competition summary
  2. Innovate UK, competition eligibility, including funding levels
  3. Innovate UK, competition scope and projects not funded
  4. Innovate UK, competition dates
  5. Innovate UK, supporting information: programme phases
  6. GOV.UK, Industrial Strategy sector definitions list
  7. Companies House, Life of a company, Part 1: accounts (company size thresholds)

Ageiro is the applicant. This page is not published by Innovate UK. Scope questions can also go directly to Innovate UK at BridgeAI@iuk.ukri.org.3