UK Research and Innovation (EPSRC)

UKRI: Integration of AI/HPC with quantum computing

EPSRC funding, part of the UKRI Quantum Programme, for collaborative research projects that tackle the bottlenecks in building quantum computing into classical high-performance computing and AI workflows, in support of Quantum Mission 1. Projects must address a defined application use case with a defined end-user and, at a minimum, produce demonstrators of end-to-end hybrid quantum-classical workflows. The project lead must be at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding. Projects can cost up to £3.75 million full economic cost, of which EPSRC pays 80%, last up to three years from a fixed start of 1 June 2027, and are expected to secure at least 1:1 leverage from public or private sources.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £1 – £3,750,000
Closes in: 16 days left; 3 November
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Standard UKRI eligibility: the project lead must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding, and only that lead organisation can submit
A person can be project lead on only one application, but co-lead on any number
Cross-disciplinary teams are expected, involving physics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, software, hardware and end-user expertise; teams may include academia, industry, policy bodies, non-departmental public bodies and third-sector organisations, with international collaborators and UK partners outside eligible organisations included as project partners
Projects must work with a defined end-user, who may be in industry, government or the third sector
Project partners are expected to provide 1:1 match funding in cash or in kind (in total across a consortium), and projects are expected to secure at least 1:1 leverage from public or private sources over their lifetime; international partner contributions must show a clear benefit to the UK quantum ecosystem
Collaboration with the National Quantum Computing Centre is welcome but not required
Funding is subject to full business case approval

What it funds

Collaborative research on the convergence of quantum computing with HPC, AI (including machine learning) or both, with quantum computing central, for example:

AI for enhanced quantum computing performance on end-to-end scalable platforms
Architectural considerations for near-term quantum computing utility
Hybrid quantum-classical software tools and algorithmic libraries that interface with existing classical software
Performance libraries for classical integration with quantum computing, such as scheduling, orchestration and instruction-specific tasking
Simulation of quantum computing architectures with novel classical architectures, for example via accelerators
End-to-end benchmarking, validation and reproducibility frameworks for hybrid AI-HPC-quantum workflows
Advanced computing architectures for quantum computing use cases, such as communication protocols, latency requirements, FPGAs or accelerators for quantum error correction
ML/AI tools and methods for error suppression, such as calibration, clock-rate, error detection, correction and mitigation
Costs: research technical support including research software engineers, data scientists and postdoctoral research assistants
Travel and other standard expenses
Consumables and smaller items of equipment individually costing less than £25,000
Use of UKRI-funded research facilities
Activities that initiate, grow and maintain collaborations with stakeholders, such as secondments, staff exchanges and regular travel

project outputs must map onto Quantum Mission 1 milestones (a million quantum operations by 2028, a billion by 2032), and funded projects must take part in UKRI portfolio activities, networking events and workshops.

What it will not fund

Equipment over £25,000 in value (including VAT)
Uninvited resubmissions of projects submitted to UKRI or any other funder
IIASA or Norway-based project co-leads (international): the UKRI-RCN and UKRI-IIASA agreements do not apply

How to apply

Make sure your research organisation is registered on the UKRI Funding Service (Je-S is not used)
Start an application on the UKRI Funding Service as project lead
Write a Vision and Approach document of up to six sides of A4, plus an optional page for a diagrammatic workplan, and upload it as a single PDF
Complete the remaining sections: summary, core team, applicant and team capability (R4RI format), project partners and their letters of support, facilities, resources and cost justification, ethics and RRI, user engagement, data management and sharing, your organisation's support, and trusted research
Send the application to your research office, which submits it by 4pm on 3 November 2026
Respond in writing to pre-panel comments from panel members before the assessment panel meets

there is no expert peer review stage; an expert panel assesses and ranks applications. Check your institution's internal deadlines. Applications withdrawn before review or office-rejected for substantive errors cannot be resubmitted.

Have ready

Vision and Approach document: up to six sides of A4 (plus one page for a diagrammatic workplan), 11-point Arial or equivalent with 2cm margins, as a single PDF no bigger than 8MB, named with the Funding Service number and 'Vision and Approach'
Letters or emails of support from each project partner, as a single PDF in English or Welsh, up to two sides of A4 per partner
Statement of support from your research organisation

do not send letters of support from the host or project co-leads' research organisations. Facilities must be named from the facility information list, with their agreement where required.

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