About the Manchester Prize

What is the Manchester Prize?

The Manchester Prize is a multi-million pound, multi-year challenge prize, launched in 2023 and funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to reward UK-led breakthroughs in artificial intelligence for public good.

Challenge prizes support open innovation creating a level playing field for established and previously untested innovators alike, enabling the most promising ideas to progress, supported with funding and expert capacity-building support.

Artificial Intelligence holds incredible potential to transform all areas of our lives and unlock new avenues to tackle shared global challenges. AI has the potential to grow the economy, improve public services, tackle climate change, and lies at the heart of this mission-driven government. The Department for Science Innovation and Technology is determined to speed up its adoption across the economy to transform public services and kickstart growth. 

The Manchester Prize is focused on backing pioneering new AI solutions to some of the most important and difficult challenges in society. Every year for a decade, it is rewarding innovations that will help to transform the lives of people across the UK and continue to secure the UK’s place as a global leader in cutting-edge innovation. 

The first Manchester Prize launched in December 2023 rewarded UK-led innovations that overcome challenges in the fields of energy, environment and infrastructure.

The second Manchester Prize, launched in November 2024, will reward UK-led organisations with AI solutions that enable the UK to accelerate progress towards a net zero energy system. 

What is the purpose of the Manchester Prize?

Every year for a decade, it is rewarding innovations that will help to transform the lives of the people across the UK and continue to secure the UK’s place as a global leader in cutting edge innovation.

Research shows that the UK economy could benefit more than any other major economy from generative AI, doubling economic growth. AI has the capacity to make us more productive in our jobs, improve delivery of public services, make our national infrastructure work better, and support the transition to a net zero economy. If we want these potential benefits to have a positive and lasting impact for the public, society and the environment, we first need to incentivise and support the AI technologies and innovators that will deliver them.

Learn more about the teams being supported by the First Manchester Prize

Why is it called the Manchester Prize?

Manchester is home to one of the most significant milestones in the history of computing, the development of the first stored-program electronic digital computer, famously known as “Baby.” This prizebreaking machine ran its first program in Manchester, marking a significant step in the evolution of computing. Although it is challenging to pinpoint a single birthplace of modern computing, Manchester’s Baby is indisputably a strong contender.

The Manchester Prize not only commemorates Baby’s historical significance but also embodies the spirit of curiosity and exploration that drove the pioneers of computing. Just as Baby served as a test bed for the Williams Tube, an early form of computer memory, the Manchester Prize similarly encourages a bold embrace of uncertainty and exploration, empowering a diverse range of innovators to deliver meaningful impact with their ideas.

The development of Baby and its successor, the Mark I, highlights the importance of collaboration within innovation. The success of these early computers was not the result of a single sector’s efforts but collaborative efforts involving academia, government, and industry. The prize reflects this spirit of cross-sector collaboration and challenges UK-based teams to develop cutting-edge AI that can contribute positively to today’s most pressing challenges.

Looking back at Manchester’s contributions to computing, we see the immediate impact of these early machines but also the seeds they planted for a technological revolution. Today, we carry powerful computers in our pockets, a far development from the days of Baby, yet directly connected to the innovations that began in Manchester. The Manchester Prize aims to nurture the next wave of transformative innovations, ensuring that today’s breakthroughs continue to shape our future in profound and lasting ways.