Over 700 British firms applied to UK Sovereign AI scheme

In a September 14, 2026 update, one of the UK Sovereign AI scheme’s designers said over 700 British companies had applied in its first two weeks. Its launch webinar also reached its 1,000-attendee cap, they said. Eligibility responses were planned for the week of September 14, with invitations to bid on challenges covering AI security, compute efficiency and better health services promised soon. The designer said the team hoped to have many more bids open by the end of 2026.