.png)
Innovate UK, the government-backed innovation agency has awarded £2 million to six pioneering projects that use artificial intelligence (AI) to boost environmental monitoring and encourage investment in nature-based solutions. However, this announcement comes amidst a storm of criticism directed at the agency for handling a separate competition aimed at female entrepreneurs.
The AI projects receiving funding span a variety of innovative applications. Ocean Ledger is using software to assess and predict risks to coastal ecosystems. Tierra Foods and the University of Huddersfield are developing machine learning tools for asset managers and major food companies to monitor and verify soil carbon sequestration.
Catherine Makin, innovation lead for green finance at Innovate UK, said the grants - which range from £250,000 to £500,000 - would "enable the development, acceleration and commercialisation of some really innovative ideas designed to help the private finance community confidently invest in nature positive projects".
"Nature positive investing is not a new idea, but, as a market, it is still in its infancy," she said. "It therefore comes with significant risk, which impacts investor confidence, For us to harness finance that protects, restores and benefits nature, we need to reduce that risk, build confidence and demonstrate the potential for returns so that we see more investments, sooner. Data is a crucial part of that picture, as it can support investment decisions by helping to build confidence that the finance is achieving desired and expected outcomes."
Aquan, in collaboration with University College London, has secured funding for an AI tool that employs geospatial data to reduce risks in nature-based investments. Meanwhile, Caledonian Climate Partners & New Gradient are working on AI technologies to drive investment into peatlands. Zulu Ecosystems, alongside Severn Trent, is scaling a data-driven approach to plan and deliver nature-based solutions for water resilience across entire catchment areas.
City Science Corporation and Caerphilly County Borough Council also earned funding to develop an assessment tool that integrates natural capital considerations into local planning processes.
Despite the success of these projects, Innovate UK is facing backlash over its Women in Innovation competition. The agency recently found itself under fire after announcing it would award only 25 of the 50 grants originally promised to female entrepreneurs. This decision caused an outcry, especially as women entrepreneurs often face higher barriers to funding than their male counterparts.
Hundreds of business leaders voiced their frustration on social media, accusing Innovate UK of backtracking on its commitments. Initially, the competition was supposed to provide £75,000 grants to 50 female-led early-stage businesses. However, after receiving nearly 1,500 applications, Innovate UK stated it had "wrongly prioritised" the budget and would only be awarding half of the promised grants. It also changed the language on its website to say "up to" 50 grants instead of the originally stated 50.
Faced with widespread criticism, Innovate UK reversed its decision on Monday, issuing an apology and confirming it would honor its original commitment to award 50 grants and disburse the entire £4 million budget, as originally planned.
The incident has left many questioning Innovate UK's initial decision, but the agency's correction has been seen as a step toward rebuilding trust with female entrepreneurs who continue to face systemic challenges in securing funding.
"As public funders, we must manage our budgets carefully," the statement posted to social media platform LinkedIn reads. "The decision to only award this number was a mistake and we prioritised wrongly. We recognise the impact this has had on the many applicants, and on the community as a whole, and we apologise wholeheartedly."
In a LinkedIn post published on Friday which subsequently went viral, femtech founder Emma Jarvis wrote: "Women led businesses are consistently underfunded, despite the fact that they are addressing some of the most pressing challenges in society. We were told there would be 50 awards available, so it's a bit of a gut punch to see that only half of those were actually awarded."
Comments