Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)

The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) was formally established on 25 January 2023 under the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Act 2022, following years of advocacy for a UK equivalent of DARPA. It operates as a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with accountability to Parliament but significant operational independence to pursue bold, long-term research goals. ARIA's mission is to fund breakthrough R&D in underexplored areas to catalyze new paths to prosperity for the UK and the world. The agency operates through Programme Directors — scientific and technical leaders who define opportunity spaces and shape research directions. As of early 2026, ARIA had 16 Programme Directors across two cohorts, 53 staff, over 200 funded research teams and collaborators, and over 100 active projects. It has committed over £400 million to the UK R&D ecosystem since its founding. ARIA's founding CEO was Ilan Gur. In February 2026, Kathleen Fisher became CEO; she previously led DARPA's Information Innovation Office, overseeing a $500 million portfolio and over 50 programmes. Matt Clifford serves as Chair and Ant Rowstron as Chief Technology Officer. The agency's most directly AI-safety-relevant programme is Safeguarded AI, a £59 million initiative within the Mathematics for Safe AI opportunity space. Led by Programme Director David 'davidad' Dalrymple, Safeguarded AI aims to develop quantitative safety guarantees for AI systems using formal mathematical proofs and scientific world models — an approach inspired by safety certification standards in nuclear power and aviation. The programme operates across three technical areas: TA1 builds formal platforms for world models and proof verification; TA2 uses frontier AI to help domain experts create verifiable mathematical models of real-world dynamics; and TA3 applies these tools in real-world safety-critical contexts. In 2025 the programme pivoted away from planned cyber-physical applications toward cybersecurity demonstrations, responding to rapid advances in frontier AI capabilities. A second AI-relevant programme, Scaling Trust (approximately £50 million, under the Trust Everything, Everywhere opportunity space), seeks to enable AI agents to securely coordinate, negotiate, and verify with one another on behalf of humans. Phase 1 funding applications closed in March 2026. ARIA's broader portfolio includes programmes in synthetic biology, neurotechnology, climate science, robotics, and ecological engineering. Its government funding commitments extend through at least 2030, with £1.22 billion allocated for 2027-2030 in addition to the original five-year £800 million envelope.