Information on future Manchester Prize rounds

The Manchester Prize, an initiative of the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, will award £1 million every year to a team of innovators with the most cutting-edge AI solution for public good.

When details on future rounds are available, they will be announced by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. If you want to be first to hear updates about the Manchester Prize please sign up to our newsletter.

Manchester Prize – Energy, Environment and Infrastructure

The first round of the Manchester Prize spans from December 2023 to March 2025, awarding £2 million in two phases. In this inaugural round, the Manchester Prize is focused on seeking innovation in the fields of energy, environment and infrastructure. This round’s Innovator Handbook for this round can be viewed here.

In the entry phase, which opened on 7 December 2023, teams developed their ideas and proposals in order to submit their entry by the final deadline of 1 February 2024 at 12 noon (GMT). Phase 1 culminated with ten entrants being selected as finalists by the judging panel, and each receiving an award of £100,000 on 21 May 2024. 

The finalist phase, which began on 21 May 2024 with an innovator onboarding event in Manchester, sees the 10 finalist teams developing their solutions. In addition to their £100,000 grant, finalists will receive non-financial support in the form of business support, match-making with key stakeholders, and up to £90,000 of compute.

In January 2025, teams will make a final submission to be considered for the £1 million grand prize. In March 2025, the judges will select the best team in line with the judging criteria to be awarded the grand prize of £1 million.