Jointly led by the University of Liverpool and Imperial College London, Alchemy has been working hard to bring together leading academic researchers, industry, and other stakeholders to promote a collaborative community and bring novel approaches to this rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field.
New funding opportunities have recently been launched, and the team have hosted a broad range of exciting events to build connections and allow researchers to explore new ideas and technologies.
The Alchemy Frontier Fund will enable researchers to develop ambitious ideas that operate at the Chemistry-AI interface. With £2.5m available and up to £1.25 million available per project, applications are invited from now until Friday 12 September 2025. If you would like to find out more about this opportunity, there is a webinar available which provides a clear overview of the funding call, covering eligibility, application criteria, timelines and the support available to applicants. Alternatively, please visit the website.
In addition, the first Alchemy Annual Conference took place in March and featured a mixture of academic and industry speakers. Covering a range of topics from optimisation breakthroughs to generative AI, robotics, and responsible AI, the discussions highlighted clearly that AI is revolutionising chemistry at an unprecedented pace. You can read about the key takeaways from the conference here.
Lecture session at the recent Alchemy Annual Conference
AIchemy’s first Pump Priming Fund received an incredible 42 applications, and 10 projects have been awarded a total of £200k in funding. These innovative, early-stage ideas span nine institutions and highlight the exciting diversity of research happening where AI meets Chemistry. The projects are now underway, and you can find out more about each one here.
A new Collaborative Travel Fund, offering up to £7,500 to support cross-institutional and industry partnerships that drive collaboration at the AI–chemistry interface, has also been launched and is open to applications. If you are looking to spark a new partnership or strengthen an existing one, this fund is designed to help researchers connect, share expertise and build lasting collaborations across sectors and disciplines.
The summer internships funded by AIchemy were in high demand, and have supported 12 projects across several HE Institutes, including University of Oxford, Lancaster University and Strathclyde. Furthermore, annual training schools such as Chemistry and Materials Machine Learning (CaMML) and the Winter Robotics school provide up-to-date, essential training for researchers and students looking to advance their skills at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, and AI.
From monthly online webinars and interactive outreach events to hands-on workshops, AIchemy is a gateway to the future of chemistry. Whether you are just beginning to explore AI integration or you're a researcher pushing the boundaries of emerging technologies, AIchemy’s growing programme has something for everyone. To find out more information about AIchemy and to sign up to future events, please visit their website.
Learn more about the Materials Discovery Frontier at the University of Liverpool.