LONDON, October 8, 2025 — Today, Pillar VC, the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), and the Department for Innovation, Science and Technology have announced the inaugural 18 fellows for the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship.
Backed by Pillar VC and enabled by ARIA, the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship embeds world-class AI researchers into cutting-edge scientific labs across the UK focused on one of ARIA's opportunity spaces. The fellowship is designed to accelerate the pathway to industry, and enable top AI talent to spend one year immersed in intensive exploration, feedback, and development cycles.
Technology Minister Narayan said, "This is where Britain’s world class science collides with AI to accelerate discovery. The Encode Fellows will help bring ideas from the lab into use — solving some of the world’s biggest challenges, creating the next wave of UK start-ups, more skilled jobs and stronger growth.”
The 18 fellows will apply AI to a range of ambitious research initiatives in cancer prevention, biomaterials design, behavioral neuroscience, and more. Fellows come from both academia and industry — their backgrounds span researching AI at leading universities around the world, and working on AI initiatives at some of the world’s most recognizable companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Sony, and Tempus. Collectively, fellows will receive £8 million in government funding to support them in undertaking their research activities and disseminating their work.
“New science is how we are going to solve some of the most important challenges facing the world, and AI will significantly increase the speed of scientific progress,” said Leah Morris, Executive Director of Encode: AI for Science. “Our inaugural AI for Science Fellows will aim to achieve breakthrough scientific discoveries with real-world impact through translational paths like startups, open-source communities, or research-driven non-profits. With the support of ARIA and DSIT, we’re fueling a new class of science entrepreneurs, builders, and innovators.”
Fellows were selected from more than 600 applicants. The demand for the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship was so great that the UK government will fund an expansion of the program.
“ARIA’s investment in the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship will catalyse innovation in areas we believe are ripe for breakthroughs, including climate modelling, rare disease treatment, crop development, and neuroscience,” said Pippy James, Chief Product Officer at ARIA. “This first-of-its-kind fellowship brings together a unique cohort of scientists with the power to move the needle on how AI can be applied to the experimental sciences. We’re excited to see what the fellows achieve over the next year, and how their research opens new frontiers for tackling global challenges.”
Learn more about the 18 fellows, including the projects they will be working on and the universities they will be embedded in, at encode.pillar.vc/the-science.
.png)
About ARIA
The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is a UK R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, ARIA funds teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.
About Encode: AI for Science
Encode: AI for Science is a flagship Pillar VC initiative for the next generation of founders, scientists, and leaders in AI for Science.
The Encode: AI for Science Fellowship brings together the brightest minds in AI with pioneering scientific research. Over 12 months, Encode Fellows are embedded in leading labs to advance frontier research, apply AI to accelerate discovery, and help launch new ventures or research organisations rooted in deep tech breakthroughs.
.png)
