UK businesses developing innovative technology for the creative industries can now apply for the Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1 Grant 2026.

Innovate UK has allocated up to £10 million to support industrial research projects that combine creativity and technology, commonly described as Createch. The funding is intended to help businesses move promising innovations beyond proof of concept, reduce technical and commercial risk and prepare new products or services for the market.

Eligible projects must have total costs of between £100,000 and £500,000. The competition closes at 11:00am UK time on 11 August 2026.

For UK creative technology companies with a commercially ambitious product, platform or service, this competition could provide the resources needed to complete research and development, validate the market and attract future investment.

What Is Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1?

Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1 supports early-stage innovation at the intersection of high-growth Createch and the UK’s Industrial Strategy frontier industries.

Projects should develop commercial digital platforms or services that significantly improve what the applicant’s business currently offers. The innovation must address an industry challenge, create a new revenue stream and support the applicant’s long-term growth plan.

Innovate UK expects funded solutions to become market-ready within 12 months after the project ends. Applicants must also demonstrate value for money and consider the innovation’s potential social and environmental effects.

This means the competition is not simply funding creative content. A proposal to produce a conventional film, album, game, festival or marketing campaign is unlikely to qualify unless it involves genuine research and development and a demonstrably innovative technological approach.

Who Can Apply for the Next Wave Grant?

A project can be delivered by one business or through a collaboration.

To lead a collaborative project or apply alone, the organisation must be a UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise with a commercial focus.

Academic institutions and research and technology organisations cannot lead or apply alone. Charities, Community Interest Companies and other organisations without a profit-driven commercial focus are also unable to lead.

Collaborative partners may include UK-registered businesses of any size, academic institutions, charities, public-sector organisations, not-for-profits and research and technology organisations. In a funded collaboration, no single partner may account for more than 70% of the total eligible project costs.

What Creative Industries Are Covered?

Projects must focus on commercial digital platforms and services in one of four frontier industries:

• video games;
• advertising and marketing;
• film and television;
• music, performing arts and visual arts.

Cross-sector proposals are welcome where there is a clear connection to at least one of these areas. A business might, for example, combine artificial intelligence with film production, immersive digital tools with performing arts, real-time technology with video games or advanced data platforms with advertising.

Design businesses may also apply where their Createch innovation contributes directly to one of the four qualifying sectors.

Projects connected with education, tourism, healthcare, construction, manufacturing or immersive experiences must demonstrate a clear and meaningful link to an eligible frontier creative industry.

How Much Grant Funding Can Applicants Receive?

Project costs must fall between £100,000 and £500,000, but the grant will not necessarily cover the entire budget.

For industrial research activities, the maximum funding rates are:

• up to 70% of eligible costs for micro and small organisations;
• up to 60% for medium-sized organisations;
• up to 50% for large organisations participating as partners.

For example, a small business with an eligible £300,000 project may be able to request up to £210,000, subject to the funding rules and assessment process.

Research organisations undertaking qualifying non-economic work can share up to 30% of total eligible project costs. Subcontracting is permitted, but subcontractor costs must not exceed 50% of the project’s total costs.

Project Duration and Important Dates

Projects must last between nine and 12 months. They should start by 1 January 2027 and finish no later than 31 December 2027.

The competition opened on 23 June 2026 and closes on 11 August 2026. Applicants are expected to be notified on 1 October 2026.

Most of the funded work must take place in the UK, most of the funding must be spent in the UK and the applicant must intend to exploit the project results in the UK.

Which Projects Will Not Be Funded?

Innovate UK will not support routine content production, business-as-usual activities or projects that lack a genuine research and development component.

Other excluded activities include informational websites, ordinary podcasts, training courses, retreats, physical construction, workspaces, studios, FMCG products, secondary grant programmes, community groups and internal workflow tools that offer no benefit to the wider creative ecosystem.

The proposal must show how the innovation is significantly different from what is already available and how it can generate measurable economic value.

Tips for a Strong Next Wave Application

Begin with a specific creative-industry problem rather than the technology itself. Explain who experiences the problem, how existing solutions fall short and why your proposed innovation represents a meaningful improvement.

Your application should connect technical development with commercial outcomes. Include the target market, customer demand, intellectual property, competing solutions, route to market, revenue model, delivery team and measurable project milestones.

Applicants should also explain why public funding is needed, what risks the grant will reduce and how the innovation will be brought to market within the required timeframe.

Innovate UK notes that similar competitions may have an estimated success rate of around 10%, so vague claims or content-led proposals without technical evidence are unlikely to be competitive.

Official Application Link

Applications close at 11:00am UK time on Tuesday, 11 August 2026.

Start a Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1 application

Applicants planning a cross-sector project should contact Innovate UK early to confirm that the proposal falls within the competition’s scope.