Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has announced the Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1. UK registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for a share of up to £8 million to develop engineering biology products and services with selected investor partners. The competition supports the development and commercialisation of late-stage experimental development projects that are close to market and ultimately market adoption.
Programme Overview
• Lead organisation: Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• Competition name: Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1
• Total programme investment: up to £8 million
• Programme umbrella: UKRI’s Engineering Biology Programme
• Target applicants: UK registered micro, small or medium-sized businesses (SMEs) only
• Core aims: development and adoption of engineering biology technologies; commercialisation of late-stage experimental development projects close to market; and ultimately market adoption
• Additional investor support: investor partners can provide commercial acumen in leadership, market access, skills, and resources
• Expected success likelihood from similar competitions: around 20%
Registration and Opportunity Details
• Opens: 01/10/2026
• Closes: 02/12/2026 at 11:00am
• Opportunity type: Funding, Invest in innovation
• Eligible locations: East Midlands, East of England, London and the South East, North East (England), North West (England), Northern Ireland, Scotland, South West (England), Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber
• Sector: Agrifood, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Health, Materials, Sustainability
• Application limit: An SME can only submit one application into this round of the competition
• Investor dialogue: You can apply before speaking to an investor, but initiating dialogue with investors is strongly encouraged
• Investor-matching support: If you would like help to find and contact a potential investor, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Engineering Biology team
Award and Funding Structure
• Total grant funding request: between £250,000 and £2 million
• Grant coverage: up to 45% of costs depending on business size
• For experimental development projects, Innovate UK will fund up to 45% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations and up to 35% for medium-sized organisations
• Project duration: 24 months for experimental development projects
• Remaining funding: does not need to be provided directly by the investor, as long as the investor’s investment in the business is at least double the grant funding received from Innovate UK
• Example: if project costs are £4 million and the Innovate UK grant is £1.8 million, the aligned investment must be at least £3.6 million
• Successful UK registered SMEs will receive grant funding from Innovate UK and aligned investment funding with one of the programme’s pool of investors acting as the lead investor
Who Can Apply
• Open to single applicants only
• Applicant organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME)
• Project work must be carried out in the UK
• Applicants must intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Only one application per SME in this round
• Must be registered in the UK as an SME by the time the award is contracted
• Must be able to complete the aligned investment led by the investor partner needed to qualify for the award, through the issue of new shares or convertible debt
• Innovation and ideas can come from anyone and anywhere; investments are encouraged for diverse and extraordinary talent in the UK
• Encouragement includes communities typically under-represented: regions that have historically accessed lower levels of investment outside London, Oxford and Cambridge; ethnic minority groups; women and other marginalised genders; disabled people; and people with non-traditional education backgrounds
Eligible Projects and Scope
• Projects must focus on developing or applying engineering biology solutions in health; agriculture and food; chemicals and materials; low carbon fuels; waste and environment; or cross cutting technology and service development
• Projects must be late-stage experimental development projects that are close to market and ultimately market adoption
• Proposals must have a clear route to market, a clear link to innovation, and evidence that a team can be created to deliver the proposal
• Funded projects must demonstrate significant market impact, be scalable, and be attractive to equity investors
• The primary innovation and competitive advantage underpinning the project must arise from, or enable, engineering biology
• Elements of project work that predominantly focus on viability or scale-up, such as validation, manufacturing or regulatory progression as appropriate, will be supported provided they are directly enabled by and derive value from the underlying engineering biology innovation
• Evidence to support the project’s primary innovation being based on engineering biology may include patents, proprietary strains, engineered cell lines, protected knowhow, software enabled biological design capabilities, licences to relevant background IP, or other demonstrable ownership or control of engineering biology intellectual assets
Investment Requirements
• To be offered grant funding, the project must be assessed as eligible for grant funding and the applicant must have secured aligned investment with a lead investor
• The aligned investment led by the investor partner must always be at least twice as much as the grant funding
• Private investment must be agreed through a lead investor and heads of terms must be reached by 29 July 2027
• The aligned private investment must provide suitable capital at least twice the amount of the grant requested to complete the project, support company growth, and support scale ambitions
• Investment can be directed for use in the company, whereas the grant is to support the project only
• Investment can be used to fund additional costs typically ineligible for support by Innovate UK
• Investment must be provided under commercial terms negotiated with the lead investor and not Innovate UK
• Investment can be in the form of direct equity investment or a convertible loan
• Investment must come from a lead investor from the pool of investors associated with this programme
• The lead investor may decide to syndicate with other investors from within or outside of the pool
• In the investor pool, applicants can view the areas of expertise and investment preferences for the investors
Eligible Engineering Biology Technologies
• Definition: engineering biology is the purposeful engineering of biological systems to create new or enhanced functions that do not occur naturally, or that cannot be achieved efficiently through conventional approaches
• This includes the design, modification or creation of organisms, cells, genetic circuits, enzymes, proteins or other biomolecular systems that exhibit novel or enhanced functionality
• Core innovation must be in engineered biological systems, for example built on synthetic biology techniques
• Supported technology areas can include:
- Biosensors and Diagnostic
- Biomanufacturing Systems
- Biocatalysis and Chemical Production
- Engineered Biomaterials
- Metabolic Engineering
- Nucleotide Synthesis
- Engineered Proteins and Enzymes
- Cell And Microbe Engineering
- Synthetic Biology Platforms
- Gene Editing and Genome Engineering
- AI and Computational Biology
Specific Themes
• Health
• Agriculture and Food
• Chemicals and materials
• Low Carbon fuels
• Waste and environment
• Cross cutting technology, service development
Briefing and Support
• Online briefing event: 2pm on Wednesday 7 October; joining link available via Zoom
• Recording and slides will be available after the briefing
• Help to find an investor partner: contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Engineering Biology team
Overall, the Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1 represents a structured pathway for UK SMEs to pair grant funding with private investment and commercial expertise, aimed at advancing late-stage engineering biology innovations toward market adoption. Interested applicants should review the formal eligibility criteria and investor pool guidance before applying.