UK invention agency Aria directs GBP 50M of public funds to US tech firms and VCs

The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), founded by Dominic Cummings, has committed GBP 50 million of UK taxpayer money to US tech companies and venture capital firms, the Guardian reported on May 3. GBP 23 million went directly to nine US tech firms, and GBP 29.4 million went to three US venture capital groups (Pillar VC, Renaissance Philanthropy backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Fifty Years). Pillar VC incorporated in the UK one day before receiving a GBP 10.9 million contract. Renaissance Philanthropy received GBP 13.3 million shortly after UK incorporation. UK MPs have criticized the practice. More than an eighth of Aria's GBP 400 million total R&D funding over two years has gone to US organizations.