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iX Challenge: Accelerating Digital Engineering Through MBSE Simulation

The iX Challenge is a competition offering grants of up to £60,000 for start-ups, micro, small and medium-sized businesses and innovators across the United Kingdom to build industrial simulation software. Open, closes 6 November 2026.

Run by iX programme, Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect · funded by openSPDM

Checked against the official page (ktninnovationexchange.co.uk) on 10 Oct 2026.

A competition to find innovators who can build a configurable industrial software solution for MBSE simulation within openSPDM. Winners get a chance to pitch and then apply for a grant of up to £60,000 for a 3 month project.

Apply or find out more Official page

These details are gathered from public web pages and are not financial advice. Check them with iX programme before you apply.

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Status and deadline

Status

Open

Not confirmed on the official page

Deadline

Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (4 days)

As stated: Closes: 06/11/2026 5:00pm

Not confirmed on the official page

How much

Up to £60,000

Confirmed on the official page

Who can apply

Established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs, or individual entrepreneurs, UK based or with the intention to set up a UK base.

Confirmed on the official page

Business size

Start-ups, Micro (under 10 staff), Small (10 to 49 staff), Medium (50 to 249 staff)

Confirmed on the official page

Sectors

digital, industrial maths, manufacturing, robotics & ai, security & defence, sensors, transport

Could your business apply?

Tell us about your business and an AI will compare it with this scheme's rules: what fits, what doesn't and what to check with iX programme. It takes a few seconds.

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How to apply

Follow the 'Find out more and apply' link to the Innovation Exchange challenge page.

Not confirmed on the official page

Where it is open: UK-wide

United Kingdom

Confirmed on the official page

HartlepoolMiddlesbroughRedcar and ClevelandStockton-on-TeesDarlingtonHaltonWarringtonBlackburn with DarwenBlackpoolKingston upon Hull, City ofEast Riding of YorkshireNorth East LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireYorkCounty DurhamCheshire EastCheshire West and ChesterNorthumberlandCumberlandWestmorland and FurnessNorth YorkshireBurnleyChorleyFyldeHyndburnLancasterPendlePrestonRibble ValleyRossendaleSouth RibbleWest LancashireWyreBoltonBuryManchesterOldhamRochdaleSalfordStockportTamesideTraffordWiganKnowsleyLiverpoolSt. HelensSeftonWirralDoncasterRotherhamNewcastle upon TyneNorth TynesideSouth TynesideSunderlandBradfordCalderdaleKirkleesLeedsWakefieldGatesheadBarnsleySheffield

Open across United Kingdom, so every council area in the North of England is shaded.

Drawn from the areas the funder names. If a scheme is only for part of a council area, check its own page. Boundaries from the Office for National Statistics.

Things we could not confirm

  • Page lists 'Opens: 09/10/2026' but the challenge launch is given as 8 October 2026; opens_on uses the listed date.
  • Pitch-stage timeline: challenge launch 8 October 2026, applications close Friday 6 November 2026, pitch day 25 November to 3 December 2026, submission to IFS 22 December 2026.
  • Funding is delivered via the Innovation Exchange challenge; openSPDM sets the challenge, and its own rules may apply.
  • Eligibility for individuals and academic institutions is stated, so businesses_can_apply is yes for businesses only in the sense that they are listed as entrants.

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Related open schemes

Everything open across the North

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Source and last checked

Local Landscape gathers this information automatically from the pages below, then checks the key details against the official page. Checked against the official page (ktninnovationexchange.co.uk) on 10 Oct 2026. Its details last changed on 20 Oct 2026. No person has checked it, so confirm the details with iX programme before you apply.

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