ARIA unveils its latest “activation partners”
Five new organisations have joined the roster of ARIA’s activation partners: Adaptyv Bio, the BioInnovation Institute, Edinburgh Genome Foundry, Newlab, and Open Athena.
The funder has described its activation partner approach as aimed at creating the “right conditions to translate highly speculative science into world-changing capabilities.” Funded organisations are those that work in areas such as talent activation or supporting the wider research ecosystem. ARIA has described the benefits as follows:
“Activation Partners have given researchers access to specialist expertise and infrastructure they couldn’t have developed alone, enabling them to overcome practical barriers that could otherwise have slowed or limited their work.”
The first round of funding in 2024 saw nine organisations partner with ARIA – “pioneers of new science innovation models, community builders, world-leading research labs, and deep-tech focused accelerators” – including Convergent Research, Renaissance Philanthropy, and Google DeepMind (this latter partnership was unfunded).
A recent reflection on the progress of the activation partners model to date saw ARIA highlight the value of these organisations in various areas: the provision of bespoke equipment, holding engagement events with prospective researchers, and funding fellowships in AI, a programme which saw additional government investment:
“One of our earliest success indicators was an additional £5m committed by the UK’s Department for Science Innovation and Technology, doubling the number of fellows on Pillar VC’s Encode fellowships due to the quality of technical talent applying.”
ARIA also notes that R&D agencies around the world are “beginning to emulate our approach”.
The latest round
The five new partner organisations follow a call earlier this year, which expected to allocate £100m over three years – it was anticipated that “a maximum of 8–10 partners” would be funded. This latest call had a particular emphasis on AI for science.
ARIA has previously been criticised for its investments in companies based outside the UK – of the latest awardees, Edinburgh Genome Foundry is based at the University of Edinburgh, whereas the others work internationally.
ARIA has defended the programme in evidence to Parliament, saying that the model has “served as an attractive entry point and incentive for international organisations to invest in the UK’s talent base and R&D ecosystem,” and stressing that all activities funded through Activation Partners will take place in the UK.