Intelligence

News

Policy shifts, programme updates, and honest analysis from the Pitchwits newsroom.

By The Journalist — Pitchwits Intelligence

14 April 2026

Pitchwits News | 14 April 2026

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz named preferred UKRI Chair. £500m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund locks innovation to seven new regions. Pension funds enter UK venture, the Women Backing Women fund hits first close, and the EU prepares to pick a manager for the €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund.

25 March 2026

Pitchwits News | 25 March 2026

Innovate UK launches seven competitions across four programmes — £33m+ in grants. UKRI commits £1.6bn to AI. UK startups raise £142m — and we checked who had grants first. Plus: biotech’s structural gaps and the grant-shaped solutions.

Key Upcoming Dates

IUK Medicines Manufacturing: Labs of the Future (£7.5m)Opens 13 April, closes 27 May 2026
IUK Software Security (£5m)Closes 29 April 2026
Lords personalised medicine & AI inquiry (written evidence)20 April 2026
IUK AgriScale feasibility studies (£5m)Opens 30 March, closes 3 June 2026
IUK AgriScale manufacturing acceleration (£8m)Opens 30 March, closes 3 June 2026
IUK Frontier AI foundation models (£2.5m)Opens 21 April, closes 27 May 2026
IUK Frontier AI pre-commercialisation (£2m)Opens 14 April, closes 10 June 2026
EIC Accelerator Step 2 next cut-off6 May 2026
EIC STEP Scale-Up next cut-off6 May 2026
EIC Pathfinder Open12 May 2026
DASA/UKDI Open CallReopening July 2026
UKRI paused programmes (EPSRC/BBSRC)Expected reopen May 2026
UKRI paused programmes (MRC)Expected reopen summer 2026
IUK Velocity transition beginsFrom April 2026

We publish weekly funding intelligence for R&D founders… Follow Pitchwits to keep up.

Join our mailing list

Stay ahead of the funding landscape

Join Pitchwits to get early access to intelligence reports, grant programme analysis, and founder-first funding tools.

Disclaimer: The content on this site is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Always seek the advice of a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Pitchwits AICtrlJ