The UK is to launch a “high-risk” science agency to look for ground-breaking discoveries.
The agency, Aria, will be run along the lines of US equivalents that were instrumental in the creation of the internet and GPS.
Aria, which has £800m funding over four years, will have a “higher tolerance for failure than is normal”, the government said.
Labour said the government needed to clarify what the agency would do.
The new body – the Advanced Research & Invention Agency (Aria) – would fund “high-risk, high-reward” scientific research, the government said.
But the amount of funding it will get is a fraction of the money pumped into existing government research bodies such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
For 2020-21 alone, the government has allocated £10.36bn for its research programmes and bodies.
Nevertheless, the government said that Aria would “help to cement the UK’s position as a global science superpower”.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the new agency would “drive forward the technologies of tomorrow” by “stripping back unnecessary red tape”.
“From the steam engine to the latest artificial intelligence technologies, the UK is steeped in scientific discovery. Today’s set of challenges – whether disease outbreaks or climate change – need bold, ambitious and innovative solutions.
“Led independently by our most exceptional scientists, this new agency will focus on identifying and funding the most cutting-edge research and technology at speed,” Mr Kwarteng said.
Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser Dominic Cummings was a prominent supporter of “blue-sky” thinking by small groups of scientists, saying in 2019 funding should be given to “high-risk high-payoff visions”.