Scotland will become home to the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, with up to £750 million for the project confirmed in the Spending Review.
The supercomputer will be housed at the University of Edinburgh and will give scientists from across the UK the computing power they need for cutting-edge research and making the next big breakthrough – whether that’s personalised medical treatments, making air travel more sustainable, or modelling climate change.
The supercomputer will work alongside the AI research resource, a network of the UK’s most powerful supercomputers that were built to bolster scientific research. The AI Research Resource, which is due to come into operation soon, is already being used to research Alzheimer’s vaccines and treatments for cancer by simulating how drugs work inside the body and ‘testing’ millions of potential drugs virtually to speed up the creation of new medicines.
The Isambard system has this week been ranked in the top ten globally and top 5 in Europe for publicly available supercomputers. According to the latest Top500 rankings, it also ranks as a leader in terms of efficiency, setting a clear benchmark of how the UK government is delivering on its AI ambitions while driving forward its mission to become a clean energy superpower.
“This is a landmark moment and will place Scotland at the forefront of the UK’s technological revolution. The £750 million investment in Edinburgh’s new supercomputer places Scotland at the cutting edge of computing power globally,” said Ian Murray (Secretary of State for Scotland).
“This will see Scotland playing a leading role in creating breakthroughs that have a global benefit, such as new medicines, health advances, and climate change solutions. This is the Plan for Change – delivering real opportunities and economic growth for communities across Scotland.”
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