CoSTAR National Lab publishes inaugural annual report

The CoSTAR National Lab has published its inaugural annual report, covering activity from October 2023 to December 2025. The report highlights more than a year of significant progress across applied research, industry access programmes, innovation projects, and partner collaborations supporting the UK’s creative R&D sector. 

The report outlines key achievements from the Lab’s first two years of operation, during which the focus has been on establishing the foundations of a future-facing national capability. This includes the development of the CoSTAR Stage and National Lab facilities at Pinewood Studios, the creation of AI compute infrastructure, and the roll-out of distributed technology infrastructure and Access Programmes across the UK. 

Adrian Woolard, Interim Co-Director and Director of Technology at CoSTAR National Lab, said: 

“Among its key achievements, the report highlights the development of cutting-edge infrastructure and collaborative research programmes that are bringing together academic institutions and industry partners to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies. Already, 79 companies have directly benefited from CoSTAR Network activity, even before all physical and virtual facilities are fully operational. 

“The first two years have laid strong foundations for future growth, with the Lab positioned as a national hub for experimentation, commercialisation and skills development. The coming year will be pivotal for CoSTAR National Lab, with the opening of the CoSTAR Stage at Pinewood, expanded AI compute capacity, and new strategic partnerships that will help CoSTAR support the UK as a global leader in convergent creative technologies.” 

The report provides a detailed overview of activities, partnerships and strategic priorities as CoSTAR National Lab continues to scale its impact across the UK’s creative industries.