UK Throws Millions Into Blockchain Race

Innovate UK, United Kingdom’s technology development agency, announced that it has up to GBP 19 million (USD 26.6 million) to invest in upcoming science and technology projects, including blockchain and Internet of Things.

The public office also said they would offer an additional GBP 12 million through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), which would allow businesses to recruit graduates to help them on innovative projects.

The deadline for the proposal is March 28, 2018, and according to the announcement, “projects must be led by a business or a research and technology organisation and must include an SME” (small and medium-sized enterprises, defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361). Projects are supposed to range in size from GBP 35,000 to GBP 2 million, lasting from three months to three years. Another stipulation is that businesses should be able to raise up to 70% of the funds on their own.

This is not the first time Innovate UK expresses interest in blockchain: in 2015, GBP 248,000 were awarded to Tramonex, a startup that is building a cross-border payments tool using Ethereum.

Other project areas that are eligible for application are energy harvesting, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, space applications etc.