Seven British businesses have secured a share of £560,000 in government funding to develop satellite and artificial intelligence technologies designed to transform farming, support nature recovery and drive economic growth.
The funding follows a pioneering “hackathon” organised by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Innovate UK, which brought together government, industry and academic experts to develop solutions using space-based data and AI to address agricultural and environmental challenges.
Selected from a pool of 50 applicants, the seven companies will each receive £80,000 in Space Commercialisation Credits. The funding will provide technical expertise and business support to help accelerate the development and commercialisation of their technologies.
According to Defra, investment in space technology can deliver strong economic returns. For every £1 invested in Earth observation research, up to £8.20 is returned to the economy through innovation, new businesses and skilled jobs.
Standout competition winners include:
- x10NI, which builds digital farm simulations to give farmers real-time data to manage soil health, cut input costs and keep environmental reporting on track
- Gentian, which uses AI-powered satellite analysis to track wildlife habitats and biodiversity changes, making environmental risk assessments faster for developers and reducing reliance on expensive site visits
- Ocean OS, which uses satellite data to automatically map marine habitats and species, giving regulators the information they need to approve offshore wind farms faster and get clean energy projects built sooner.
Speaking about the programme, Angela Eagle, science minister at Defra, said space data and artificial intelligence were already reshaping how food is produced and how the economy grows.
“Space data and AI are transforming how we produce food and grow our economy,” she said. “These seven teams have shown what is possible when government, industry and academia work together. I look forward to seeing their ideas develop into products that benefit farmers, communities and the environment.”
Gary Cutts, executive director for digital and technologies at Innovate UK, said the initiative demonstrated the importance of innovation-led growth.
“Innovation-led growth is central to the UK’s economic future,” he said. “By backing businesses that apply space and AI technologies to real agricultural and environmental challenges, we are strengthening food security, supporting nature recovery and creating the conditions for high-potential firms to attract private investment and scale.”
Over the coming year, each of the successful companies will receive additional technical support from the Satellite Applications Catapult to help bring their products to market.
The initiative builds on wider government support for agricultural innovation. Earlier this year, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced £120 million in productivity and innovation grants at the National Farmers’ Union conference.
The funding, delivered through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund and the Farming Innovation Programme, aims to boost productivity and technological development across the agricultural sector.
To date, the Farming Innovation Programme has supported more than 630 organisations and committed over £165 million to research and development, attracting more than £58 million in additional private investment.
