Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)
@aria-research
Empowering scientists to reach for the edge of the possible www.aria.org.uk
We’re excited to appoint David Lewis as Chief Science and Technology Officer. In this role, David will guide and mentor our Programme Directors as they develop ambitious programmes, strengthen ARIA’s technical culture and help us attract bold new talent and ideas into our ecosystem.
What if we organised research around the future technologies we want to create? On Monday at 3pm, we'll share how we're organising our research going forward, and the areas we believe could deliver the greatest breakthroughs for humanity.
Today we’ve published our 2026 Corporate Plan. Three years in, we’ve committed £500m+ across 14 programmes, backing 200+ R&D Creator teams. In 2026, we’ll continue to strengthen pathways that turn bold ideas into transformative breakthroughs. Read the full plan: aria.org.uk/media/nwffke...
We’re delighted to welcome Dan Cole as ARIA’s first Chief Translation Officer. Dan will work across our programmes to shape the pathways, funding models and partnerships needed to turn breakthrough science into life-changing technologies and new industries.
We’re hiring a Technical & Translational Lead for our Safeguarded AI programme. Help drive a £20m funding call using AI-enabled formal methods to build and red-team cyber defences for critical systems. Apply by 28 June: https://bit.ly/4xOM7ZK
We’re hiring a Science & Technology Lead to work with Claire Donoghue on ARIA’s Hypersensory Intelligence: Digital Olfaction programme — building an artificial “sense of smell” that matches or exceeds biology. Apply by 28 June 2026: https://bit.ly/4xAN1bW
We’re hiring a Science + Technology Lead in our Smarter Robot Bodies opportunity space to help shape a new programme exploring more efficient robot locomotion. We’re looking for a roboticist with expertise in robot locomotion. Apply before this Sunday (May 17). https://bit.ly/4dbssuL
Dive into the thesis and give feedback: link.aria.org.uk/EOPbluesky
We’re hiring a Chief Translation Officer at ARIA. Help ensure breakthrough science translates into real-world impact — shaping partnerships, pathways, and how discoveries move beyond research. Apply by 3 May: https://bit.ly/3PMUVO8 Learn more about working at ARIA: https://aria.pinpointhq.com/
We’re hiring a Chief Financial Officer at ARIA. This role sits at the heart of how we operate — enabling ambitious, high-risk work while maintaining strong public accountability. Apply by 3 May 2026: https://bit.ly/4bYgSRT
Our call for Activation Partners cohort 2 is now live. 🚀 We're looking for 8-10 new partners to accelerate breakthrough science translation across the UK — with an expanded focus on advanced AI capabilities. Information webinar: https://bit.ly/4mmYmaJ Apply before 21 May: https://bit.ly/4c4ngXT
Led by Jacques Carolan, this initiative seeks to reach the central nervous system through the body’s natural pathways, aiming for a system deployable in under 30 minutes. Share your concept papers with us by March 17 Learn more here: link.aria.org.uk/9cc719MSNbs
Building on the momentum from our first Activation Partners, we’re preparing to launch a call for 8-10 new partners to design activities that accelerate the pace and translation of breakthroughs with a key focus on AI applied to science. Discover our early thinking: link.aria.org.uk/AP_CN
Backed by £6 millionwe're supporting 12 projects to see if autonomous systems can reason, plan, and run experiments in the real world. Discover the projects: link.aria.org.uk/AIscifpbs
The world is rich with information hidden from human senses. Our latest opportunity space, Extending Our Perception, explores combining AI and sensors to create Hypersensory Intelligence to perceive reality in new ways + catalyse breakthroughs across disciplines. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/EOPbluesky
“This isn’t blind optimism." From the ambitious programmes we're backing to our commitment to building transparently, CEO @ilangur.bsky.social + Chair Matt Clifford reflect on ARIA's journey so far in @thetimes.com, as we work to transform the future of the UK. Link in thread ↓
This Friday, we’ll launch our £46m Sustained Viral Resilience programme. We’ll fund teams in synbio, immunology + AI to engineer the innate immune system for durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viral threats. Read the thesis now: link.aria.org.uk/sii-progthes...
AI Scientists – autonomous systems that conduct entire research workflows – could fundamentally transform breakthrough research. Next Tuesday, we're launching a funding call to test what's actually possible. Stay tuned.
What’s the greatest hurdle in improving food security: the science or the system? Join us on 16 October to hear from an expert panel + ARIA Creators and get a taste of tomorrow’s crops. Register here: link.aria.org.uk/VC-WFD-BS
On Friday, we're launching a major new funding call: backed by £55m, Precision Mitochondria (led by Nathan Wolfe) aims to make the mitochondrial genome programmable in vivo. Read the programme thesis here + stay tuned for more: www.aria.org.uk/opportunity-...
We are excited to share our latest Corporate Plan, Building for Breakthroughs, outlining our vision for building breakthroughs right here in the UK. Discover how we're empowering bold ideas and the people behind them. 🚀 Read the full plan here: link.aria.org.uk/cp25
We’re excited to welcome Ant Rowstron as ARIA’s first Chief Technology Officer. Ant will be a driving force for attracting bold, new technical ideas to ARIA. He'll help refine our strategy, champion our programmes, and consolidate ARIA as a place for scientific talent to thrive.
The nine teams we're funding in Synthetic Plants are paving the way for more productive, resilient, and sustainable plants. 🌱 Discover how they'll deliver growth in agriculture for the UK + beyond: link.aria.org.uk/sp-c-bs
Missed the ARIA Summit, or want to rewatch your favourite talk? From Dame Kate Bingham on the lessons from the Vaccine Taskforce to Sir Demis Hassabis on his early career, dive into our Summit highlights: link.aria.org.uk/summit-bluesky
We've recently welcomed three new Non-Executive Directors to our Board. Their combined entrepreneurial experience in tech, AI, and science will help us unlock huge potential for the UK’s R&D ecosystem. 🚀 (1/2)
What a week... Our first Summit brought the ARIA community together for the first time, where we dug into the transformative research we’re funding + what's needed to translate it into real-world impact 🚀
We’re backing 9 UK-based teams to use AI to unlock transformative improvements in our critical infrastructure as part of our Safeguarded AI programme.👇[1/3]
We’re excited to announce the first 10 teams we’re funding in Robot Dexterity 🦾 Working on Technical Area 1, they’ll focus on improving the skills and dexterity of robots to create more useful machines. (1/3)
Call for feedback 📢 We know there’s a growing need for greater modularity, interoperability, and standards in robotics. We’re inviting manufacturers, researchers, investors, regulators, and users to tell us what’s needed to make breakthroughs. Participate by 28 Feb: link.aria.org.uk/rd-ta3survey...
Working across disciplines – from neurosurgery to engineering, ethics, + inclusive design – teams will build approaches around patients’ + clinicians’ lived experience, unlocking treatments for more conditions than ever before. Discover their work: link.aria.org.uk/pnt-creators-bluesky (3/3)