Official UK procurement notice
Scaling compute: AI at 1/1000th the cost
Authority: Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionARIA is an R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. We empower scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is technologically or scientifically possible.
We reach across disciplines, sectors and institutions to shape, fund and manage projects across the R&D ecosystem, from startups to universities, to break down silos and discover new pathways.
We're looking for proposals for our Scaling compute: AI at 1/1000th the cost programme for info see aria.org.uk/scaling-compute ↗
CPV: Research services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The digital electronics industry that has transformed our lives in immeasurable ways…Published value£39,000,000
The digital electronics industry that has transformed our lives in immeasurable ways is defined by the simple fact that, for 60+ years, we have benefited from exponentially more computing power, at lower cost.
This fact is no longer true. For the first time in history, increased performance requires increasing costs and this coincides with an explosion of demand for more compute power driven by AI.
Our current mechanisms for training AI systems utilise a narrow set of algorithms and hardware building blocks, which require significant capital to develop and manufacture. The combination of this significance and scarcity has far-reaching economic, geopolitical and societal implications.
What we're shooting for:
We see an opportunity to draw inspiration from natural processing systems, which innately process complex information more efficiently (on several orders or magnitude) than today's largest AI systems.
Our goal: to increase + open up new vectors of progress in the field of computing by reducing the cost of AI hardware.
In doing so, we'll open up new opportunities to reap the economic + social benefits of AI, from accelerating scientific research to improving the efficiency of our public services.
In order to realise these targets, we're looking to fund three Technical Areas.
For more info see aria.org.uk/scaling-compute ↗
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Suitability
See ARIA website aria.org.uk/scaling-compute ↗
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Competitive procedure with negotiation
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 13 Mar 2024, 09:08 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Mar 2024, 09:08 GMT
- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-007950- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0447f1Find a Tender
Publisher note: Detailed timelines can be found in the programme call information on ARIAs website https://www.aria.org.uk/scaling-compute/#timeline The application process for Technical Areas 1, 2 and 3 consists of two stages: - Submission of a concept paper - At this stage and based on your concept paper, you will either be encouraged/ discouraged to submit a full proposal. If you receive feedback indicating that you are not encouraged to submit a full proposal you can still choose to submit a full proposal. You should note that this preliminary assessment/encouragement provides no guarantee of any full proposal being selected for award of funding. The deadline for submission of concept papers is 27.03.24 (12:00 GMT). - Submission of a full proposal - the deadline for submission of full proposals is 07.05.24 (12:00 BST). The total funding value is the estimated budget available. We expect to fund multiple applicants. Funding is anticipated to be award via both contracts and grants. For information on how we fund https://www.aria.org.uk/faqs-funding/
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 7 May 2024, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
13 Mar 2024 → 7 May 2024 · 2 dates- Notice published13 Mar 2024, 09:08 GMT
- Submission deadline7 May 2024, 12:00 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Not Applicable, see the ARIA Act 2022Review body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.