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AI in Transport: 23 innovators selected to develop proposals
The organisations chosen will develop use case proposals that demonstrate how AI can transform the UK's transport system.
23 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been selected to participate in the first phase of the 'Smarter Transport Systems – AI in Transport' competition. The competition is delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT).
This initiative supports action 5.1 of the Government's Transport Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which aims to harness AI's potential to digitalise and integrate transport systems whilst managing possible risks. The proposals selected have the potential to drive efficiency, enhance resilience, improve inclusivity, and ensure the UK transport system is future-ready.
Each proposal aligns with at least one of the competition's five challenge areas:
- Automating Inspection and Predictive Maintenance – leveraging AI to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness of transport asset inspections and maintenance
- Optimisation of Network Operations – using AI to dynamically manage transport networks across all modes, including adaptive capacity planning and real-time routing
- Enabling Major Transport Infrastructure Project Efficiencies – improving the planning, delivery, and oversight of large-scale transport infrastructure projects
- AI for Climate Adaptation – building resilience and sustainability into transport systems in the face of climate change
- Creating an Inclusive Transport System – making transport systems more accessible and equitable for all users, including disabled people, older adults, and underserved communities
The organisations selected to develop proposals are:
- Amygda Labs
- BetaStreets Ltd
- ClearQuote Technologies Ltd
- Compute Maritime Ltd
- Covailent Ltd
- Cumra Ltd
- Damodi Ltd
- DBR & Associates Ltd
- DriveAI Ltd
- Eyya Group Ltd
- Hodos Media Ltd
- Innovation Factory Limited
- Kigo Ltd
- MConnected Ltd
- Monirail Ltd
- Proaptus Ltd
- Roadern Ltd
- Synthetik Applied Technologies Ltd
- The AI Consultancy Ltd
- The Lab Corporations Ltd
- Trackbase Ltd
- Travel Hands
- UrbanTide Ltd
The selected organisations will each receive an initial £1,000 to develop their use case proposals over a two week period. Covailent and Innovation Factory will receive £2,000 each as they have been chosen to develop two separate proposals. The innovators will refine these proposals with support from experts from Connected Places Catapult and stakeholders from across the transport industry.
Ten will then be selected to pitch to senior transport stakeholders at DfT’s offices. Ultimately, up to three will be chosen to receive follow-on funding of up to £13,000 each to develop their proposals into full business cases.
The winning companies, who have been selected to go on to develop full business cases will be unveiled at the Connected Places Summit (18-19 March).
The companies that received full business case funding last year went on to drive real world impact and benefit from further support from Connected Places Catapult. FYLD achieved major client success in July 2025 by enabling Ferrovial to deliver a £2.2bn Texas Highways upgrade three months ahead of schedule. 1Timetable and Purple Transform went on to benefit from engagement with the Freight Innovation Cluster and Station Innovation Zone programmes respectively.
All three firms also achieved a host of industry recognition including a Railway Innovation Award (1Timetable), a listing as one of the top 100 UK by startups.co.uk (FYLD) and a gong for Best AI-Powered Business Intelligence Specialists 2025 by SME News (Purple Transform).
