UK to rely on AI to bring in billions of pounds of investment and create thousands of jobs
A major package of new reforms and investment will put AI at the heart of the government’s mission to drive growth, create jobs, and spread prosperity across the country.
Ahead of the Budget next week, these plans will ensure new investment boosts jobs and growth – giving British businesses the opportunity to scale and compete internationally as part of a Modern Industrial Strategy, the government said in a statement on Friday (21 November).
AI Growth Zones will help transform local economies and ensure no community is left behind, with £5 million of government funding for each Growth Zone to boost business adoption and invest in the skills of local workers.
To ensure British businesses and researchers stay at the forefront of AI, new plans will back firms and scientists with the right tools to succeed and to seize the opportunity for British workers and growth.
- The government will act as a “first customer” for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products but currently struggle to get off the ground without investment. The new “advance market commitment” is backed up by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market. AI Growth Zone data centres will house billions of pounds of hardware. Our goal is to see British chips deployed alongside established vendors.
- Alongside this, venture capitalist James Wise will chair the Sovereign AI Unit, backed by almost £500 million in investment to help build and scale AI capabilities on British shores. The unit will bring together government, industry and investors, to become the go-to fund for high-potential start-ups and scale-ups in the UK.
- New AI ambassadors will help maximise the benefits of AI for Britain. Nobel prize winning British Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Simon Johnson will act as a standard bearer with public services and businesses to help them take up this brilliant technology to boost productivity. Monzo Co-founder and Y Combinator General Partner Tom Blomfield will champion British start-ups to scale up and attracting talent and investment. And Google DeepMind VP of Research Raia Hadsell will champion the UK’s place at the forefront of AI innovation and security.
- The government will offer more free compute to British researchers and British startups so they can train new AI models and deliver scientific breakthroughs. The process to spend up to £250 million on compute is being launched today.
- A new strategy is also being unveiled to make sure AI supercharges scientific discovery backed by up to £137 million in government funding. Its first mission will be focused on harnessing AI to speed up the research of new drugs and treatments – giving patients a new lease of life and fresh hope that their conditions can be better managed.
“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,” said Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Liz Kendall.
“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.”
