
The UK government has launched a plan for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres that its says has the backing of £14bn (€16.7bn, $17bn) of investment.
This includes substantial AI datacentres across the country, which will require significant semiconductor and power infrastructure. This is part of the plan to increase compute capacity by 20x by 2030. However it comes after the administration also cancelled plans for a major exascale supercomputer when it came into office in July, and availability of the latest Blackwell GPUs from Nvidia will be a key concern.
The first ever AI Growth Zones will be set up, with the first in Culham, Oxfordshire. This will also serve a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy such as fusion can be used, tapping into the expertise at the UK Atomic Energy Authority which is building a prototype fusion reactor on the same campus.
The launch follows the AI Opportunities Action Plan developed by Matt Clifford, chair of the ARIA research agency, which had 50 recommendations.
“These well thought out initiatives will boost the UK’s AI capabilities with positive effects across our society and economy,” said Julian David OBE, CEO of industry trade group techUK. “Now that the government has set out its Plan, it is time to act, and at pace. To drive new investment, Industry will want to see more detail on how this plan will be actioned within the next six months, particularly as we face growing competition from other countries.”
Nvidia pushes Blackwell GPU as start of a whole new industry
The datacentres will be built by Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl who have committed to £14bn to build the AI infrastructure. This will provide 13,250 jobs across the UK, mostly in construction.
Vantage is working to build one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses in Wales and plans to invest over £12bn.
AI infrastructure consultancy Kyndryl plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in an AI hub in Liverpool over the next three years.
Nscale has announced a $2.5 billion investment to support the UK’s data centre infrastructure over the next three years. They have also signed a contract to build the largest UK sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, Essex by 2026.
Powering the GPUs in these datacentres remains another key concern, and a dedicated AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries will also be established, working with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges which will fuel the technology’s development.
“We already have remarkable strengths we can tap into when it comes to AI – building our status as the cradle of computer science and intelligent machines and establishing ourselves as the third largest AI market in the world,” said UK Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle. “This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI.”
The plan is backed by Microsoft and Amazon Web Services as well UK automotive AI developer Wayve and AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI.
“Embodied AI in highly regulated sectors, like automated vehicles, will require international regulatory collaboration,” said Alex Kendall OBE, Co-Founder and CEO of Wayve. “I’m excited to see the government use the levers at its disposal to help make the UK’s leading AI startups winners on the global stage. We now welcome the new targeted support for international expansion for AI scale-ups, and will pursue our global growth goals with the confidence that we have the UK Government’s full support.”
“The scale of this government’s ambition for AI development and adoption in the UK is exactly what’s needed to drive economic growth, transform public services and create new opportunities for all,” said Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK. “Maintaining the UK’s position as a global leader in AI demands innovation and investment across the public and private sectors and Microsoft is fully committed to helping make this vision a reality.
