Innovate UK | Immersive Technology Investment Accelerator challenge

The Challenge

UK businesses doing R&D in immersive technology can apply for a share of up to £2 million grant funding alongside private equity investment.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will award up to £2 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Audience of the Future programme. This is for immersive technology research and development (R&D) projects.

This investment accelerator competition is for UK-based micro, small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who are looking for grant funding and who want to establish an equity relationship with a UK venture capital firm.

The competition aims to encourage investment in innovative immersive technology companies. These companies can be engaged in:

• Immersive content production

• The delivery of new immersive products, services or platforms

• Or the development of novel immersive software, hardware or devices

We recognise the potential value of creative companies who are supporting innovation through immersive technologies across a range of industries.

Companies can apply for simultaneous grant funding and private investment to cover their total eligible project costs.

Funding and Project size

Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £150,000 and £300,000.

We have allocated up to £2 million in grant funding to be used alongside the equity investment from the investor partners in this competition.

For feasibility studies and industrial research projects, you can get 100% funding for your eligible project costs. Innovate UK will fund:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small business

• up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business

The remaining funds must be provided by one of our listed investor partners through equity investment or convertible loans. You must agree the terms of the investment with the investor partner you wish to work with. It must be a new investment into your business and cannot come from an existing investment or from your existing balance sheet. If you already have investment from one of our listed investors you can still apply, but again, this must be new money.

This competition provides state aid funding under article 25, ‘Aid for research and development projects’, of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). It is your responsibility to make sure that your organisation is eligible to receive state aid.

How to Apply

Visit www.colinked.io and find the Immersive Technology Investment Accelerator on the programs page - You will then be able to apply to this (and any other Corporate challenges).

The closing date for applications is the 4th of July 2019