UK govt puts 1bn investment in AI

More than 50 businesses and organisations have contributed to the development of a £1 billion deal to put the UK at the forefront of the artificial intelligence industry, featuring almost £300 million of new private sector investment. The deal between government and industry, announced by Business Secretary Greg Clark and Digital Secretary Matt Hancock on 26 April, also includes more than £300 million of newly allocated government funding for AI research to make the UK a global leader in this technology.

Building on the commitment made in the government's modern Industrial Strategy and its AI Grand Challenge, the deal marks the first phase of a major innovation-focused investment drive in AI which aims to help the UK seize the £232 billion opportunity AI offers the UK economy by 2030 (10% of GDP).

The Artificial intelligence Sector Deal follows record levels of investments into UK tech in 2017 and today's deal includes new investments such as:

Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain opening its first European HQ in the UK and investing £35 million in UK deep-tech start-ups

The University of Cambridge opening a new £10 million AI supercomputer and making its infrastructure available to businesses

Top-ranking Vancouver-based venture capital firm Chrysalix, is also going to establish a European HQ in the UK and use it to invest up to £110 million in AI and robotics

The Alan Turing Institute and Rolls-Royce will jointly-run research projects exploring: how data science can be applied at scale, the application of AI across supply chains, data-centric engineering and predictive maintenance, and the role of data analytics and AI in science.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock said: The UK must be at the forefront of emerging technologies, pushing boundaries and harnessing innovation to change people's lives for the better. Artificial Intelligence is at the centre of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business. We have a great track record and are home to some of the world's biggest names in AI like Deepmind, Swiftkey and Babylon, but there is so much more we can do. By boosting AI skills and data driven technologies we will make sure that we continue to build a Britain that is shaping the future.

It includes money for training for 8,000 specialist computer science teachers, 1,000 government-funded AI PhDs by 2025 and a commitment to develop a prestigious global Turing Fellowship programme to attract and retain the best research talent in AI to the UK.

The government will build on its reputation as an international hub for AI innovation and provide £20 million of funding to help the UK's service industries, including law and insurance, with new pilot projects to identify how AI can transform and enhance their operations.

The government has also pledged £21 million of funding to create Tech Nation, a new UK-wide organisation working across the country to create a high-growth tech network for ambitious entrepreneurs. One of Tech Nation's new goals will be to establish an internationally-respected programme for mid-stage AI companies to help bring them to scale.

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