As we prepare for our next chapter, we’re reflecting on our progress this year. From the momentum built across our first seven programmes to an expanded portfolio of opportunity spaces, dive into our 2025 highlights. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/2025-bluesky

Enduring Atmospheric Platforms, our new programme led by PD Rico Chandra, is aiming to unlock the stratosphere as the backbone of the next-gen communications – crucial to AI’s projected £13-20 trillion economic potential. Submit your concept paper by 19 Jan. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/EAP-programm...

Full proposals are now open for Sustained Viral Resilience – backed by £46m, this programme is looking to create a new class of medicines by engineering the innate immune system. Submit by 22 January. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/SVR-programm...

Our November update is here. 👀 Find the latest news, events and opportunities, plus insights across our work. ↓ ariaresearch.substack.com/p/november-u...

Neurological disorders cost the EU & USA >$1.7T annually, yet effective neurotech is limited by surgical complexity. We’re scoping a programme to build brain surgery-free interfaces, allowing responsive, outpatient therapies for earlier intervention. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/SNI-MSN-thes...

Humans are changing the environment faster than wild species can naturally adapt. Our new thesis – Accelerated Adaptation – explores whether methods to accelerate adaptation can enhance ecosystem resilience and prevent species loss. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/AA-thesis-BS

We’re excited to introduce our new CEO: Kathleen Fisher. ARIA is at an inflection point. We’re moving from launching ambitious research to driving it forward. Kathleen is the ideal leader to scale our work. Read more: link.aria.org.uk/ceoannouncem...

As AI collapses coordination costs, our new thesis - Scaling Trust - explores how scalable trust infrastructure could usher in a world of many AI agents, capable of mobilising, negotiating, and verifying on our behalf across digital + physical spaces ↓ link.aria.org.uk/ST-thesis-BS

Perpetual Flight → Enduring Atmospheric Platforms PD Rico Chandra has published his updated programme thesis, tightening its focus on telecommunications and opening up the range of approaches we’re interested in. Dive into his evolved thinking: link.aria.org.uk/EAP-thesis-BS

Complex global challenges are outpacing our ability to respond. In our new opportunity space, Collective Flourishing, PD Nicole Wheeler asks if we can build new tools to create the future – from advanced modelling to large-scale deliberation methods. Read here: link.aria.org.uk/cf-bs

A silence switch for cancer + fungal networks as bio-interfaces – meet the 8 new Creator seeds we're funding in Scalable Neural Interfaces. Led by @jacquescarolan.bsky.social, this space asks how we can safely connect tech with the human nervous system. Dive in ↓ link.aria.org.uk/snb-seeds-bl...

“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 ↓

Our October newsletter has landed... Read it on Substack + subscribe to get it straight to your inbox each month ↓ link.aria.org.uk/oct-substack-x

"I think gracefulness really is a form of efficiency." @pallabg.bsky.social spoke to Programme Director Jenny Read – and Creators Rich Walker (Shadow Robot Company) + Guggi Kofod (Pliantics) – about the crucial transformations needed in robotic hardware. ↓ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

📢 We're currently hiring for a number of technical and functional roles across our team: - 3 x Technical Specialists - Head of Data + Tech - Content + Brand Manager Check them out and get notified of new roles: aria.pinpointhq.com

How can mathematics help us verify, understand, and control AI systems? Our Mathematics for Safe AI seed projects explore diverse, foundational approaches to AI safety – from the mathematics of agency to hardware-level verification. Learn more: link.aria.org.uk/mfsa-oppseed...

As we look to build an early warning system in our Forecasting Tipping Points programme, we're partnering with Telescope and the Ditchley Foundation to convene experts + ensure actionable information reaches the people it needs to. Learn more about FTP: link.aria.org.uk/ftp-programm...

Meet the Encode cohort! These fellows turn frontier AI research into minimum viable discoveries (MVDs): the launchpad for new science-driven ventures and institutions.

Can we engineer the innate immune system for durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viruses? In Sustained Viral Resilience – backed by £46m – we’ll fund teams to create a new class of medicines + unlock adoption pathways. Apply by 10 Nov: link.aria.org.uk/SVR-programme-bs

We’re looking to fund short discovery projects to build community and dive into potential research directions for a programme and within our Trust Everything, Everywhere opportunity space, led by PD Alex Obadia. Find out more + apply by 12 November: link.aria.org.uk/TEE-disc-BS

We're launching a £3M funding call to test what AI Scientists – autonomous systems that conduct entire research workflows – can actually contribute to breakthrough research. Current capabilities show both promise and limitations, so we're funding experiments to learn what's real.

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...

Government-backed scientists are making implants from lab-grown brain cells that could one day replace damaged circuits in patients with Parkinson’s disease

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.

The development of new, transformative material processes has stagnated. In our new thesis, PD Ivan Jayapurna proposes a ‘Universal Fabricator’ to rapidly discover and develop new processes for the scalable production of advanced materials. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/UF-thesis-BS

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

We are launching a new programme, Precision Mitochondria programme. Backed by £55m, it aims to create a foundational toolkit for engineering the mitochondrial genome in vivo.

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-...

👀 Our latest Substack is live – discover: – The launch of Innovator Circles – Insights into the FRO-Founder Residency with @convergentresearch.bsky.social – A Q&A with @micromotility.bsky.social on natural computation in single-celled microorganisms + more ↓ link.aria.org.uk/sepsubstack-bluesky

Breakthroughs don't happen in isolation. They emerge when ambitious scientists gather to test bold ideas and challenge conventional thinking. Today we're launching ARIA Innovator Circles – to support these essential spaces where researchers can raise each other's ambition. (1/3)

This June, we kicked off our first-ever UK FRO Founder Residency as an Activation Partner for the United Kingdom’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), @aria-research.bsky.social. Read more: www.essentialtechnology.blog/p/inside-the...

We’re looking to fund ~10 short discovery projects to dive into potential research directions for a programme within our Engineering Ecosystem Resilience opportunity space, led by @yannickwurm.bsky.social. Find out more + apply by 18 September: link.aria.org.uk/eer-preprogd...

We're giving you a broader look into ARIA in our new Substack format. 🚀 From potential new programme thinking from @jacquescarolan.bsky.social, to insights from Creators in Robot Dexterity, dive into this month's issue + subscribe to get our posts to your inbox. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/substack-aug...

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we scale neurotech. Current approaches (e.g. DBS for PD) aren’t meeting the need. Emerging ones may fare even worse. That’s why I’m scoping a new @aria-research.bsky.social programme to develop neurotech built for scale. Check out my post +share feedback!👇

Aircraft capable of staying aloft for years could deliver digital services with much greater flexibility, speed + precision than current satellites. In our new thesis, Perpetual Flight, PD Rico Chandra proposes getting there by harnessing atmospheric energy. link.aria.org.uk/pf-thesis-bs

We’re also looking for a Technical Specialist to support Programme Director Brian Wang on the programme he’s building in this space. Find out more + apply: aria.pinpointhq.com/en/postings/...

What if we could engineer the innate immune system for broad, long-lasting resilience? Our latest thesis, Sustained Viral Resistance, proposes using AI, synthetic biology + materials chemistry to catalyse a new era of innate immunotherapies. Dive in/give feedback: link.aria.org.uk/sii-progthes...

As part of TA3 in Robot Dexterity, we convened a group of experts to tackle core challenges in robotics: modularity and interoperability. From insights collected from across the robotics community to actionable recommendations, dive into the outcomes here: link.aria.org.uk/rd-programme...

How do we ensure the next generation of powerful AI systems can be deployed responsibly and safely? Safeguarded AI is bringing teams together to build a shared, open-source platform where scientists, engineers, and AI can collaborate. Learn more ↓ link.aria.org.uk/sai-scaffold...

From @bas.ac.uk's underwater drones to Oshen's self-powered sailing robots, our Forecasting Tipping Points Creators are working to better understand the long-term trends of earth systems – and develop a crucial early-warning system for predicting climate tipping points. ↓

"It's in our DNA to experiment." In our latest Substack, ARIA's first CTO Ant Rowstron and founding F-Spec @alicejpettitt.bsky.social lay out the impact they're here to have – from increasing entropy across our spaces to leveraging AI to reshape how we work. ↓ link.aria.org.uk/BS-julysubst...

Civilisation is reliant on nature, but global ecosystems are collapsing. In our latest opportunity space, PD Yannick Wurm is asking: how can we engineer resilient ecosystems to enable both humanity and nature to thrive? Dive in + share feedback: link.aria.org.uk/EER-BS

🌿 Did you know? @thepallavisingh.bsky.social has received a landmark @aria-research.bsky.social grant to develop PlantPlug, a project to tranasform mistletoe into a programmable interface that helps host plants thrive under climate stress. 🔗 Read more: www.essex.ac.uk/news/2025/07... #PlantScience

We're part of an international coalition backing the AI Security Institute in a new research project focused on AI behaviour and control. Learn more about this work + how it complements our Safeguarded AI programme ↓ www.gov.uk/government/n...

Help us bring the full power of modern genetic engineering to the mitochondrion for the first time. Apply by 24 August to be a Technical Specialist supporting Nathan Wolfe on the programme he’ll direct: aria.pinpointhq.com/en/postings/...

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a root cause of many major diseases. Our new programme thesis – Precision Mitochondria, developed by PD Nathan Wolfe – proposes to build a revolutionary toolkit for editing the mitochondrial genome. Read + share your thoughts: link.aria.org.uk/PM-thesis-bl...

Ages of human history are often defined by the materials we use. But in our latest opportunity space, PD Ivan Jayapurna is asking: what if the next age could instead be defined by our ability to assemble molecules? Dive in + share feedback: link.aria.org.uk/MA-bluesky

From landmine-clearing plants to leveraging stochasticity in synthetic biology, discover the opportunity seeds we’re funding in Programmable Plants 🌱 link.aria.org.uk/PPoppseeds

Do you want to help us develop the capability and use cases for atmospherically powered, long-endurance aircraft? Apply by 13 August to be a Technical Specialist, supporting Rico Chandra on the programme he’ll direct: aria.pinpointhq.com/en/postings/...

Trust ‘building blocks’, like encryption, have enabled today's digital industries. In our latest opportunity space, Programme Director Alex Obadia asks: could nature-inspired trust infrastructure unlock cyber-physical markets in a secure way? Dive in + share feedback: link.aria.org.uk/TEE-Bsky