Key Features
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £12 million, inclusive of VAT, to work on maturing and enabling the availability of CHERI Tools and Software components for RISC-V embedded devices that support the CHERI architecture extensions.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £12 million
Opens: 14th May 2025
Closes: 18th Jun 2025
This is a Contracts for Innovation competition funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The aim of the competition is to fund activities in maturing and enabling the availability of CHERI (Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions) tools and software components for RISC-V embedded devices that implement the CHERI architecture extensions.
The competition is supporting economic growth and societal resilience through accelerating the adoption and diffusion of the secure by design CHERI technology. The focus is on maturing and increasing the availability of the required tooling and software components for CHERI-enabled devices.
Innovate UK require projects to mature and make available tools and software components for use with CHERI-enabled devices. This could include porting and optimisation activities on:
The Centre for CHERI Tools and Software
For the successful commercial adoption of CHERI enabled products and services it is necessary to have matured tools, software components and associated dependencies available in a consistent and accessible form.
A Centre for CHERI Tools and Software (referred to as ‘the Centre’ from here on) is separately being created to be a collaborative engineering organisation that will consolidate and make available CHERI-based software and tools for RISC-V embedded devices.
Your project must involve the development, maturation and subsequent availability of CHERI Tools and Software components specifically for CHERI-enabled, RISC-V embedded devices. Your project should contribute towards building the Centre’s accessible, open-source ecosystem in order to build consistent and supportable CHERI-enabled software stacks, with a focus on embedded markets. Projects should justify applicability to usage in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
Projects must identify either a single or associated grouping of tools or software components that will be developed and matured through defined activities that will result in defined milestones and associated deliverables to a state suitable for distribution through the Centre’s infrastructures.
Projects working on open-source software component or tool outcomes should deliver using Open Source Security Foundation (OSSF) best practices to align with the Centre’s dissemination activities
For projects delivering commercial outcomes, submissions must describe a credible and practical route to market to commercialise those outcomes.
Portfolio approach
Contracts will be awarded to successful applicants for a variety of projects across different scope areas, activities, technologies, requirements and eligible project costs. We call this a portfolio approach.
Research Categories
Prototype development and evaluation
This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set.
Your project
Projects must:
Stage 1 must complete by 31 March 2026. No time extensions for stage 1 milestones will be possible. All stage 2 milestones must be completed prior to 31 March 2028.
You must provide defined and measurable milestones including associated deliverables which must be clearly broken down with associated claims against stage 1 and stage 2 respectively.
Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Contract has been approved by Innovate UK.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.
Break Clause
The funding for the continuation of the Advancing CHERI Tools and Software projects is subject to a review by March 2026.
In the event that the decision is made to terminate the funding as a result of this review, there will be a three month notice period before the funding will stop. Innovate UK will not be able to fund any further project activity after the end of the notice period, and projects will stop at the end of stage 1 on 31 March 2026.
Projects who have not met their stage 1 milestones will be given a 30 day notice period before the funding for their project will stop. Innovate UK will not be able to fund further project activity after the end of the notice period, and projects who have not met their stage 1 milestones will stop on 31 March 2026.
Subject to meeting all stage 1 milestones, and funding being confirmed beyond March 2026, projects will continue into stage 2 delivery.
Although the risk of termination is expected to be low, it is crucial that applicants demonstrate they have considered this in their project plan. Projects should be designed in a way that ensures tangible and viable deliverables could be delivered by March 2026 should the funding be terminated.
Applicant
To lead a project you can:
Applicant organisations must:
A CHERI-enabled device is a system-on-chip silicon implementation that utilises the RISC-V architecture in the Central Processing Unit (CPU) that supports the CHERI extensions as described in the CHERI Architecture reference utilising either the 32-bit or 64-bit architecture.
Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. The majority of the project work and key deliverables must be completed by the applicant and be carried out in the UK. Subcontractors can be used, but only for specialist skills.
An individual may be named in only one application submitted to this competition.
A single organisation may submit multiple applications in this competition.
Sanctions
This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
Use of animals in research and innovation
Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.
Innovate UK will not fund projects that:
A total of up to £12 million, inclusive of VAT, is allocated to this competition across two stages. The funding budget is up to £4 million for stage 1 and up £8 million for stage 2.
Contracts will be awarded to projects with total eligible costs between £200,000 and £1 million, inclusive of VAT, for stage 1 and up to £2 million inclusive of VAT, for stage 2. Each project will last between 6 and 31 months.
The total funding available for the competition can change. The funders have the right to:
Value Added Tax (VAT)
You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your eligible project costs.
VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and suggest you seek independent advice from HMRC.
VAT registered
If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total. Your total eligible project costs inclusive of VAT must not exceed £3 million.
Not VAT registered
If you select you are not VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added. You will not be able to increase total project costs to cover VAT later should you become VAT registered. Your total project costs must not exceed £3 million.
Research and development (R&D)
Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service. This lets you incorporate the results of your exploration and design and demonstrate that you can produce in quantity to acceptable quality standards.
The R&D component of the project cannot include:
Innovate UK may revoke its decision to proceed to funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.
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