Aquaint Lands Six-Figure Innovate UK Grant to Bring Smart AI to Hospitality Compliance

Last updated: September 2026

Aquaint has been awarded a six-figure Innovate UK grant to build smart AI for hospitality compliance, working with The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre, the UK's national centre for AI and supercomputing. Over the coming months, Hartree Centre AI specialists and research software engineers will work alongside the Aquaint team on the capability our customers keep asking for: ask your own compliance records a question, get an answer you can evidence.

For a hospitality software company built in Manchester, this is a big one. Hartree Centre projects are selective, and the road to the award letter ran through months of scoping, technical assessment and evidence from the operators and safety professionals who use Aquaint every day. Now the work starts.

What Is Aquaint Building With the Hartree Centre?

Aquaint already holds the day to day compliance records for every site that runs on it: temperature logs, completed checks, incidents, maintenance jobs, documents and training records. Managers reach that data through dashboards and reports. This project adds a more direct route: ask a question, get an answer backed by the records behind it.

"Show me any fridge temperatures out of range last month, and what was done about them."

"Which checks were missed across my sites last week?"

"The EHO has walked in. Pull together everything they will ask for."

Every answer links back to the records behind it: who did it, when, and what happened next. Permissions are built in from the start, so each person sees only what their role allows. And when an inspector visits, the evidence they need comes together in seconds rather than being dug out of folders.

Who Are the STFC Hartree Centre?

The Hartree Centre is the UK's national centre for AI and supercomputing. In their own words:

We are the only UK supercomputing centre dedicated to creating industry impact, equipping organisations of any size with the knowledge, skills and compute power needed to explore and adopt advanced digital technologies, from AI to quantum computing.

To unlock the high-growth potential for businesses and the public sector, we co-develop digital solutions, translate research into practical applications, build capabilities and confidence through training and provide trusted insights that de-risk technology adoption. From fusion energy and materials discovery to precision medicine and advanced engineering, we demonstrate how digital innovation can improve productivity, support net zero ambitions and enhance quality of life across the UK.

We are a national centre within the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation.

For this project, Hartree Centre AI specialists and research software engineers work directly with the Aquaint team. It means a Manchester company of our size building with engineering talent that is usually out of reach for anyone but the biggest organisations in the country.

Why Does Hospitality Compliance Need AI?

We did not scope this project in a boardroom. We asked the people who would use it: operators running one site, groups running dozens, and safety professionals who have sat on the inspector's side of the table. The message was consistent. Records on their own are not the point. Managers need to see where the problems are, evidence what was done about them, and be inspection ready every day of the year, not the day before a visit.

They also told us what good looks like: answers that are right or honestly refused, never guessed. Accuracy, guardrails and testing are headline deliverables of this project, not afterthoughts.

"Hospitality teams don't have time to dig through records, and they shouldn't need to. Working with the Hartree Centre gives us access to some of the best AI engineers in the country to build this properly: accurate, permission-aware and evidenced, so operators can trust every answer. That trust is the whole product."
Jayden Patel, Founder and CEO, Aquaint

What Does This Mean for Aquaint Customers?

Nothing to install and nothing to set up. The project runs over the coming months and into 2027, and new capability arrives inside the app your teams already carry, once it has passed the accuracy and safety testing the project is built around.

The records your sites keep every day are the foundation. Keep logging temperatures, completing checks and recording incidents, and when the new capability ships, your records will be ready to answer.

Run Every Site Like Your Best Site

Book a free demo and see how Aquaint brings compliance, checklists, incidents, maintenance and team communication into one app today. The smart AI being built with the Hartree Centre will land in the same place.

FAQs

What is the Innovate UK grant for?
Aquaint has won a six-figure Innovate UK grant to build smart AI into its hospitality compliance platform. The funded project is delivered with The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre, whose AI specialists and research software engineers work alongside the Aquaint team.

Who are the STFC Hartree Centre?
The Hartree Centre is the UK's national centre for AI and supercomputing, and the only UK supercomputing centre dedicated to creating industry impact. It is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) within UK Research and Innovation.

What will the AI do in Aquaint?
It lets managers ask questions of their own compliance records in plain English and get answers backed by the records behind them: temperature logs, checks, incidents, maintenance, documents and training. Every answer respects each user's permissions, and evidence for an inspection can be brought together in seconds.

When will the AI features launch?
The project runs over the coming months and into 2027. Features are released once they pass the accuracy and safety testing built into the project, because an answer about compliance has to be right or honestly refused, never guessed.

Does this change anything for current Aquaint customers?
No. There is nothing to install or set up. The records your sites already keep in Aquaint are the foundation, and new capability arrives inside the same app when it is ready.

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