Ten teams of innovators have been named finalists in the Smart Data Challenge Prize to accelerate the development of new apps and technologies that could empower consumers and SMEs.
The Smart Data Challenge Prize, funded by the Department for Business & Trade, is delivered by challenge prize experts Challenge Works, in partnership with the Open Data Institute, bigspark and NayaOne.
Smart Data allows individual consumers and business customers to access and share their data simply and securely with third parties, enabling those third parties to provide innovative services.
As a pioneer of Open Banking, the UK led the world in using Smart Data to improve services for consumers and small businesses, while creating the regulatory framework for British fintech start-ups to flourish.
Following the success of Open Banking, there is a huge opportunity to drive momentum towards a Smart Data ecosystem that promotes economic growth, focusing on new sectors like finance, energy, and others, to drive positive change that works for all consumers.
Finalists of the Smart Data Challenge Prize include prototype technologies to accelerate the journey to Net Zero, make work pay and assist SMEs, and promote economic growth and stability.
Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets, Justin Madders MP, said:
“Our Plan for Change is harnessing new technology to deliver for working people and businesses and Smart Data will be crucial in this transformation. “This prize supports Britain’s world-class entrepreneurs and innovators to develop the technologies that will lead the world and seize the opportunities of the future making the UK a better place to live, to work and to run a business.”
Making it easier to buy and sell a house
The ten finalists include Moverly, a homebuying platform designed to turn the process of buying a house on its head.
Buying a house is one of life’s most stressful experiences; the data required to make an informed decision is not available at the point that customers or industry needs it, resulting in high costs, extended timescales and around 30% of purchases falling through[1].
Moverly’s Smart Data solution puts customers in control of creating and sharing property, energy, and financial data for homebuying and mortgages to generate a reusable “digital property pack” at the start of the homebuying process.
It enables effective data sharing across the real estate industry, connecting estate agents, banks, surveyors, and conveyancers, bringing together key information into one place to make the process of buying and selling a property easier.
Cutting energy costs for small businesses
VoltView aims to tackle energy management for busy business owners who may be overpaying for energy but don’t have time to address it.
Typing in an address allows VoltView to find cheaper tariffs, flag power waste, and rank appliance upgrades by impact and payback. It distils thousands of options into one clear plan, serving as a business’ personal energy research assistant.
By unifying energy data (meter readings, tariffs, carbon intensity), property data (EPC ratings, building characteristics), and financial data (banking, credit profiles), the app aims to empower users to optimise energy costs and deliver savings.
It also addresses a critical gap where only 9% of businesses currently receive energy efficiency advice from brokers; this will help them meet 2030 regulations mandating EPC A or B ratings for commercial properties.
Making the gig economy fairer for working people
Rodeo aims to support the UK’s 4 million gig economy workers by aggregating their earnings data from multiple digital platforms, plus their expense data from their transaction statements and turn this into a functional account that can be used to manage their finances, simplify their taxes and apply for additional work opportunities.
Onboarding independent workers takes an average of four weeks and costs businesses £120 to £180[2]; Smart Worker OS aims to accelerate the time-to-work by 80%, lowering engagement costs and kick-starting greater growth.
Testing solutions in the Smart Data Box
Each of the finalist teams will receive £50,000 and access to a bespoke and secure Smart Data sandbox enabling them to test their products.
In Autumn 2025, an overall winner with the most promising Smart Data solution will be awarded £50,000. There will be two runner-up prizes of £25,000.
Holly Jamieson, Executive Director of Challenge Works said:
“Access to data has enabled major innovations, including Open Banking, and is at the heart of the Smart Data Challenge Prize. Using synthetic data in the new Smart Data Sandbox, teams will be able to test their solutions, demonstrate the potential benefits of a Smart Data ecosystem for customers and society, and help government to understand what it can do to support the widespread creation of impactful uses of real-world Smart Data across different sectors in the UK.”
The Smart Data Sandbox – built specifically for the prize by NayaOne, and containing synthetic data created by bigspark – will provide secure, synthetic data representing 5,000 individuals and 100 small businesses over a one-year timeline. Entrants must use at least one of the synthetic datasets provided in the sandbox as part of their solution but teams are also welcome to bring any data they have the right to use into their secured area of the sandbox.
Karan Jain, Founder and CEO, NayaOne said:
“The Smart Data Challenge shows how real progress happens when innovators are given the right tools. With NayaOne’s sandbox, participants can safely test, validate, and refine their ideas – bridging the gap between concept and impact. We look forward to the momentum this will create”
The Smart Data Sandbox will provide finalists with access to APIs and underlying synthetic data across a range of sectors including finance, homebuying, transport and retail to mirror what a Smart Data ecosystem might look like and inspire innovation. An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules and specifications that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data.
Robin Bradley, CEO of bigspark said:
““At bigspark, we’re proud to power the Smart Data Challenge with our Aizle synthetic data platform. We’ve built a world-first synthetic dataset which captures the real-world complexity of interoperable data for thousands of people and businesses across sectors including banking, insurance, property, energy, and retail. This is a truly groundbreaking data asset – not just in its scale, but in its potential to unlock innovation while protecting privacy. It sets a new benchmark for data access, sharing, and insight generation. We’re excited to see what participants will achieve, and proud to support the UK’s leadership in Smart Data and consumer-driven innovation.”
Through the prize, the government aims to gain insight into a range of in-depth, tested use cases across a variety of sectors, providing a clear picture of the potential barriers to development for innovators, and identify exactly what data would need to be unlocked to bring the most innovative ideas in the Smart Data space to life in the long term.
Visit smartdata.challenges.org to find out more about the Smart Data Challenge Prize and all ten finalists.
