AI projects in areas as diverse as fashion, farming, and fire-fighting are being backed with a further £37 million, as the science and technology secretary Michelle Donelan highlights how AI in SMEs can be a force for good ahead of next month’s AI Safety Summit.

Research teams and businesses of all sizes in high-growth industries – from transport to agriculture and construction to creative industries – are encouraged to apply for a share of £32 million, which is now open for bids.

The funding is set to help grow their AI initiatives in a safe and responsible way and boost the wider sector, supporting their workforces and help the UK towards the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the economy.

A further £5 million has been awarded to feasibility studies for 100 projects involving small businesses across the UK, helping to sow the seeds of an idea that could flourish into game-changing technology, part of a push from government to grasp the positive effects of AI to boost productivity and growth.

Among the winners include Kapdaa, a sustainable fashion brand in Kingston Upon Thames, which has received backing for its AI4Fibres project, using AI for textile and fibres recycling.

TradeWork’s AI-assisted project management systems have also won funding, enabling the company to advance tech which creates more efficient work scheduling, resourcing, budgeting, and completion that in turn drives faster and cheaper housebuilding.

Another project gaining funding is DeepPlanet, which is working to detect and predict diseases in wine grape plants through satellite imagery to prevent waste.

Meanwhile DigiLab in Exeter is helping farmers to identify and verify carbon capture and Better Environment and Transport is exploring AI solutions that will help UK Fire and Rescue services to move their fleets towards net-zero, saving on fuel bills and cutting pollution.

Science and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan, said: “When it is deployed safely and responsibly, AI can and will transform what is possible in the world of work, unlocking gains in productivity and efficiency that could never have been imagined before.

“That is why we are backing 100 small teams with the seed of an idea – from using AI to boost clothing recycling to driving housebuilding – to drive them forward. At the same time our £32 million competition will support teams of all sizes to kick their ideas on to the next level, further helping us shape how this vital technology of the future can work for us and grow our economy.

“It is also why we are bringing world leaders and tech experts together in just a few weeks’ time for the AI Safety Summit, to build cooperation around the risks and opportunities of this incredibly promising technology and how we manage it safely.”

The £32 million competition is currently open, and closes on 8 November, just days after the UK hosts leading AI nations, technology companies, researchers, and civil society groups at the world’s first major summit in AI safety, driving national and international action for the safe and responsible development of frontier AI around the world.

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Funding, through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and delivered by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, will be granted to at least one micro business, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), and one large enterprise and one academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO).

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director, Cross-Council Programmes at UKRI, said: “The feasibility projects UKRI is funding will demonstrate how AI can aid and be incorporated into many of the UK’s industries and sectors.

“Similarly, the new competition will develop consortia that involve small, medium and large business partnering with academic and research bodies. This will mean drawing on both the knowledge and practical experiences of partners.”

The latest funding boost comes weeks after the Technology Secretary committed £2 million towards four projects exploring Ai solutions to come of the hardest-to-treat cancers and followed £13 million, pledged through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund, for research that will deliver pioneering AI innovation in healthcare, with 22 winning university and NHS trust projects stretching from Edinburgh to Surrey, receiving a share.

In June, the government also announced £31 million to create a UK and international research and innovation ecosystem for responsible and trustworthy AI.