Britain’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has committed around £50m of UK public money to US-based tech companies and venture capital firms, raising fresh questions about how taxpayer-funded innovation spending is being used.
ARIA, the UK’s high-risk research body created to back “moonshot” science projects, was established to support breakthrough ideas that could strengthen Britain’s position as a global scientific leader. It was inspired in part by Dominic Cummings’ vision of funding unconventional, high-impact research.
However, an investigation by the Guardian and Democracy for Sale has found that more than £50m of ARIA’s £400m research budget over the past two years has gone to American firms or US-linked venture capital groups, in some cases with limited visible benefit to the UK.
Among the recipients is Rain Neuromorphics, a US AI company also backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. The firm reportedly faced financial difficulties last year but continues to work on ARIA-funded projects. Other US recipients include early-stage technology firms and investment groups supporting “innovation ecosystems”.
Critics have raised concerns about whether this aligns with ARIA’s mandate to drive UK economic growth and scientific advancement.
Chi Onwurah, chair of the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee, said the findings highlight the need for stronger oversight of ARIA’s spending. She questioned how funding overseas firms directly benefits UK innovation priorities or regional development.
Economist Cecilia Rikap of University College London said taxpayer money risked strengthening US technology dominance rather than UK scientific capacity, arguing that such funding could reinforce global big tech influence rather than reduce it.
In response, ARIA said more than 80% of its funding goes to UK-based teams, and that overseas partnerships are used only where they help transfer knowledge and capability back to Britain. It added that all grants include contractual safeguards intended to ensure UK benefit.
Transparency records show £23m has gone directly to nine US tech firms, with additional funding going to companies such as Normal Computing, which incorporated in the UK shortly before receiving support. A further £29.4m has gone to US venture capital groups, including Pillar VC and Renaissance Philanthropy, both of which established UK entities around the time of their contracts.
Some programmes funded by ARIA include initiatives designed to support early-stage entrepreneurs, such as training courses for scientists and venture-building schemes aimed at developing UK tech talent.
Firms involved have argued that UK-based operations, jobs and economic activity are being created as a result of ARIA funding, with some stating that a significant share of their workforce is now based in Britain.
ARIA itself has defended its approach, saying it is designed to support high-risk scientific breakthroughs rather than traditional grant funding models. The agency does not typically take equity or intellectual property rights in funded companies, instead relying on contractual arrangements to ensure any commercial benefits are shared.
However, critics argue that without greater transparency and clearer rules on overseas funding, there is limited public accountability over how UK innovation money is being spent.
The debate comes as ARIA continues to expand its portfolio of experimental science programmes, positioning itself as a fast-moving alternative to traditional UK research funding bodies, but one increasingly under scrutiny over value for money and national benefit.