The UK government has unveiled a package of measures putting AI at the centre of its growth plans, pledging the creation of thousands of jobs and government support for key domestic AI tech.
The measures, featuring billions of pounds of public and private investment, come ahead of the Autumn Budget and warnings from company bosses that AI will slash UK workforce numbers.
They also come as US AI firms like Groq and Cerebras commit to AI investments in the UK. The reforms include up to £100m of government support to back startups building AI hardware projects and a Sovereign AI Unit, backed by nearly £500 million in investment, to help build and scale AI capabilities on British shores, chaired by Balderton's James Wise.
AI ambassadors, including Monzo co-founder and Y Combinator general partner Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind VP of research Raia Hadsell, will champion British startups and the UK AI ecosystem, drumming up investment, the government said.
The government is also to offer more free compute to British researchers and British startups so they can train new AI models and deliver scientific breakthroughs.
The government is also teaming up with Microsoft and Vantage Data Centers on a new data centre campus in South Wales, according to Bloomberg. The campus is backed by £10bn of investment from Vantage Data Centers. The government said its AI Growth Zone in South Wales would create more than 5,000 jobs. Meanwhile, US AI firms have committed to increase investment in the UK.
These include AI inference platform Groq opening its first UK data centre in London, backed by around £100 million; AI search engine Perplexity investing £80 million to expand its offices in London; and AI coding firm Cursor opening its London office as its European headquarters.
Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said: "We are ambitious for our country and believe Britain’s best days lie ahead. Today we’re announcing a package of measures that ensure we seize the opportunities to get jobs and growth in every part of the country.
"The backing by international investors today is a vote of confidence in the UK – and we’re determined to do even more to ensure we are backing British businesses, workers and researchers to benefit from the opportunities AI brings.
"This is about bringing jobs, opportunities and hope to the people and places that need it most, delivering on our promise of change."
IMAGE: Taylor Vick on Unplash
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