The UK government has launched the first competitions under its £100 million Sovereign AI R&D Procurement Scheme, aiming to help British AI startups develop technologies for the public sector while supporting their growth in domestic and international markets.

Chancellor John Healey announced the initiative at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in North Carolina. The scheme forms part of the government's wider Sovereign AI programme, which aims to strengthen the UK's AI sector by giving promising companies access to government contracts and funding.

The first four competitions focus on healthcare, defence, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure.

One challenge, run with the Department of Health and Social Care, seeks AI systems that can automate administrative tasks, coordinate patient care, and support clinical decision-making to improve NHS productivity.

Another, developed with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and government agency ARIA's Scaling Inference Lab, will support technologies that improve the efficiency of AI computing infrastructure.

The Ministry of Defence is also looking for AI tools that can securely connect data, and frontier AI capabilities across defence systems, while the National Cyber Security Centre is seeking technologies that can test the security and resilience of increasingly capable AI agents.

According to the government, the procurement scheme aims to remove barriers that often prevent smaller technology firms from competing for public sector contracts. It will offer upfront payments where appropriate, which it said will allow startups to develop and demonstrate their products without needing the financial resources or track record of larger suppliers.

The government added that companies that secure funding will retain the intellectual property they develop, enabling them to commercialise their technology beyond government pilots.

AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the initiative would put “the heft of a nation behind Britain's AI founders”.

“Every year the British state spends billions procuring products and solutions tackling some of the most important challenges facing society,” he said. “This first-of-its-kind scheme will open up these opportunities to the British AI innovators whose ideas could make the biggest difference, backing their businesses to grow here, and go on to win globally.”

---