Innovate UK

Innovate UK is a non-departmental public body established in 2007 and based in Swindon, United Kingdom. Funded by a government grant, it supports innovation in science and technology by providing funding services to businesses across various sectors and regions. The organization aims to drive productivity and economic growth by facilitating advancements that contribute to the UK’s economic landscape. In addition to funding, Innovate UK offers a range of services and information related to business and economic development, thereby fostering a supportive environment for innovation.

Mike Biddle

Programme Director of Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Will Drury

Executive Director, Digital and Technologies

Paul Gadd

Deputy Director

Dr. Tom Jenkins

Deputy Director

Scott James O'Brien

Director, Innovation Finance

Nigel Walker

Deputy Director, Lending and Investor Partnerships

Dave Wilkes

Director of Innovation Ecosystem

Past deals in Drones

Outfield

Grant in 2024
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Marble Aerospace

Grant in 2023
Marble Aerospace builds hardware and software to protect maritime environments. They use UAV technology to monitor coastal areas for illegal fishing, human, and trafficking. They provide operations, local integration, technology development planning, and deployment services.

Outfield

Grant in 2023
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Outfield

Grant in 2022
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Drone Ag

Grant in 2022
Drone Ag is a UK-based company focused on enhancing agricultural productivity through drone automation and artificial intelligence software. The team comprises farmers, agronomists, drone pilots, and software engineers who leverage their extensive experience from operating drone systems on their own 6,000-acre farm. The company offers a range of services, including drone training courses and user-friendly software solutions. By collecting and analyzing leaf-level crop data, Drone Ag enables farmers to optimize the application of resources, guiding ground machinery and drone sprayers to specific areas of fields at appropriate times. This practical approach to precision agriculture ensures that the company's offerings are grounded in real-world experience, allowing clients to improve their farming practices effectively.

Grayscale AI

Grant in 2021
Grayscale AI is a company focused on developing advanced machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence solutions, particularly for autonomous drones. By leveraging neuromorphic computing, the company aims to enhance the integration of Computer Vision, Neural Computation, and Robotics. Grayscale AI operates a vision-based intelligence platform that facilitates integrated human-autonomous fleet operations, offering services such as real-time localization and mapping, sensor fusion, and visual motion estimation. These capabilities enable customers to utilize optimization-driven AI that mimics human neural networks. The company is backed by venture capital and has participated in notable programs like NATO DIANA, xTech, and Zenzic, reflecting its commitment to innovation in the field.

Alba Orbital

Grant in 2020
Alba Orbital specializes in the design and development of pico-satellites, which are lightweight satellites weighing less than 1 kg. By creating cost-effective satellite platforms, Alba Orbital aims to democratize access to space, significantly reducing the financial barriers associated with traditional satellite launches, which can reach six figures even for small CubeSats. Their pico-satellites provide rapid Earth observation capabilities, offering timely data at intervals of minutes, unlike conventional satellites that may take hours or days to relay information. As a recognized leader in this niche market, Alba Orbital collaborates closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) and engages in research initiatives to advance satellite technology.

Skyfarer

Grant in 2020
Skyfarer offers a Drones-as-a-Service platform that makes drone operations accessible to various organizations without requiring capital investment. The company specializes in compliance, automation, and mission delivery, providing end-to-end drone services across sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure. Skyfarer's solutions enhance efficiency and reduce emissions while facilitating operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). Through its Infinite by Skyfarer division, the company provides rapid access to drone inspections, modeling, and surveillance, demonstrated by initiatives like the UK's first medical drone corridor and the world's first drone superhighway. Additionally, Skyfarer's unmanned aerial vehicles are designed for the quick delivery of vital medical payloads, including blood and vaccines, enabling timely distribution while minimizing road congestion and fossil fuel emissions.

Outfield

Grant in 2020
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Outfield

Funding Round in 2019
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Sensat

Grant in 2018
Sensat, established in 2015 and headquartered in London, specializes in a cloud-based 3D virtual engineering platform. It uses mapping drones to gather precise survey data, which is then processed through its software, Mapp. This software creates exact topographical replicas of sites, optimizing pre-construction planning, design, and bidding processes. Sensat's platform also enables infrastructure owners and operators to visualize and manage live project information in 2D, 3D, and 4D, facilitating data-driven decision-making and remote project monitoring.

Perceptual Robotics

Grant in 2018
Perceptual Robotics, founded in 2016, specializes in developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for wind turbine inspections. Their flagship product, Dhalion, is an autonomous, intelligent UAV that enables existing inspection engineers to conduct thorough, high-quality inspections in minutes, rather than hours. Dhalion identifies defects such as lightning strikes, cracks, erosion, and delamination, providing precise data about their position, size, and severity. The company, based in Bristol, UK, aims to increase inspection efficiency, enhance safety, and support data-driven decision-making in wind turbine operations and maintenance.

Perceptual Robotics

Grant in 2017
Perceptual Robotics, founded in 2016, specializes in developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for wind turbine inspections. Their flagship product, Dhalion, is an autonomous, intelligent UAV that enables existing inspection engineers to conduct thorough, high-quality inspections in minutes, rather than hours. Dhalion identifies defects such as lightning strikes, cracks, erosion, and delamination, providing precise data about their position, size, and severity. The company, based in Bristol, UK, aims to increase inspection efficiency, enhance safety, and support data-driven decision-making in wind turbine operations and maintenance.

Bird.i

Grant in 2016
Bird.i is a provider of high-resolution satellite, airborne, and drone imagery, offering real-time data and insights for businesses worldwide. By collating and disseminating superior quality images, Bird.i enables clients to effectively monitor changes and trends in various locations. The platform serves location-based services and mapping applications on a subscription basis, allowing companies to make informed decisions, solve problems, and maintain a competitive edge. Bird.i's imagery is noted for its high frequency and accuracy, which surpasses traditional mapping services, thus empowering clients to plan for the future with confidence.
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