UK Pushes for Technological Independence in AI

The British government has unveiled a $1.47 billion investment package aimed at boosting domestic AI capabilities and reducing the country's dependence on foreign technology.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a separate commitment of $533 million to buy specialized AI chips. The move is part of a broader strategy aimed at building a sovereign UK computing infrastructure.

A key element of the programme will be a billion-dollar national AI supercomputer to be commissioned by 2030. It will use a combination of current and next-generation processors.

Of that amount, $533 million will go towards the procurement of next-generation chips, including $200 million to buy inference chips from British companies later this summer.

Another part of the strategy is to encourage investment in domestic technology firms. A fund led by US company Playground Global and backed by up to $200 million from the state-owned British Business Bank will finance UK firms developing hardware for artificial intelligence. It is the largest investment the bank has made in a single fund to date.

The government has also earmarked $160 million for the development of new chips and a further $60 million for training and skills development in the AI hardware sector.

(reuters, max)