Since launching in 2020, the HS2 Accelerator has supported 37 small tech firms who have collectively secured 33 pilot projects across HS2, realising more than £50M in cost-savings across the HS2 baseline.
More than 40% of the alumni firms are now working on other projects/contracts across the supply chain. They have subsequently raised over £240 million investment & funding, and more than doubled their team headcounts, creating over 580 new jobs.
For our eighth iteration, the HS2 Accelerator is taking a multi-phased approach to create more showcasing and networking opportunities for our applicants at each phase. This year the focus will be on solutions for Data and AI themed challenges.
Phase One will support 36 applicants for 4 weeks whilst they rapidly explore the challenge(s), engaging with relevant sponsors and user groups, to develop and refine their proposals. This phase will involve an Exploration Day (London), Q&A Clinic (Virtual), and Assessment Interviews (Virtual).
Phase Two will support up to 12 finalists in which they will each receive £5,000 funding to develop a small-scale demonstrator in 4-6 weeks, using real data provided by HS2. This phase will involve a Demo Day (London) and Assessment Interviews (Virtual).
Phase Three will support up to 6 winners for 12 weeks of bespoke support to accelerate and scale-up their demonstration into a trial project with HS2, receiving up to £50,000 funding each and the benefits detailed below.
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- You must be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) headquartered or with a registered presence in the UK or Europe.
- You must be a data, software, or digital-based business (e.g. product company, AI/analytics solution provider, digital tool developer).
- You must be revenue-generating (exceptions may be made for late-stage MVPs with strong traction/pipeline).
- You must have a financial runway of at least 12 months, or a credible plan to sustain operations through the programme.
- You must have demonstrable experience delivering projects involving complex datasets (enterprise-scale, infrastructure, transport, energy, government, or similar).
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How can we harness data, AI, and predictive analytics to anticipate reportable incidents on HS2 — identifying patterns, precursors, and risk factors that signal when and where the next serious event may occur?
- Unlock predictive safety intelligence with historical data, near-miss reports, conditions, and behaviours
- Identify leading indicators to catch early warning signs before harm occurs
- Enhance situational awareness through real-time site, sensor, and digital data
- Support targeted interventions with timely deployment of resources, training, and controls
- Drive cultural change by embedding predictive insights into daily decision-making
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How can AI enhance HS2’s cost verification, empowering commercial managers with sharper insights to proactively manage and mitigate disallowable costs?
- Enable faster decision-making by finding contextual insights from previously inaccessible documents.
- Reduce the number of false positives that commercial managers must review, minimising time spent on irrelevant or low-risk items and allowing teams to focus their expertise on genuinely disallowable costs.
- Extract meaningful data from different formats (including excel and PDF) using AI and OCR
- Seamlessly move into Microsoft Fabric (likely via OneLake or Lakehouse using scalable pipelines)
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Major infrastructure projects rely on accurate information to coordinate multiple contractors, but reporting is often fragmented across spreadsheets, presentations, and inconsistent data. Progress is hard to validate, assurance remains paper-heavy, and structured data like BIM models and programme plans is under-used. This limits visibility, weakens cost-to-progress alignment, and reduces confidence in programme control.
How can we harness data, AI, and digital technologies to verify site activity, automate assurance, and unlock the full value of structured delivery information — improving transparency, productivity, and confidence from design to delivery?
- Capture and integrate real-time site data (IoT, drones, imagery, BIM, laser scans).
- Validate progress by comparing planned vs. actual delivery.
- Track workforce and equipment productivity.
- Link site activity to costs for stronger financial alignment.
- Automate assurance by checking design data against as-built evidence.
- Align contractor delivery plans with programme schedules to reduce risk.
- Use AI/ML to automate validation, detect anomalies, and boost reporting confidence.
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Connected Places Catapult held an application support webinar on Thursday 9 October: a recording was available to registrants.
If you have any questions about the programme and application, please contact Jasmine Pollock, Consultant, Enterprise Support (Transport), Connected Places Catapult. jasmine.pollock@cp.catapult.org.uk