The UK government is collaborating with more than 50 businesses and organisations to develop a £1 billion deal to put the UK at the forefront of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

Announced by business secretary Greg Clark and digital secretary Matt Hancock, the new deal features almost £300 million of new private sector investment and more than £300 of newly allocated government funding for research into the technology.

The deal marks the first phase of a major innovation-focused investment drive in AI which aims to help the UK take advantage of the £232 billion - or 10 per cent of GDP - opportunity AI offers the UK economy by 2030.

The new agreement, dubbed the AI Sector Deal, includes new investments such as:

• Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain will open its first European HQ in the UK and investing £35 million in UK deep-tech startups.
• The University of Cambridge opening a new £10 million AI supercomputer and making its infrastructure available to businesses.
• Vancouver-based venture capital firm Chrysalix will 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.

Matt Hancok, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, stressed the need for the UK to be at the forefront of emerging technologies. “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,” he added.

The AI Sector Deal also 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 global Turing Fellowship programme to attract and retain the best research talent in AI to the UK.

Every secondary school in the UK will have a fully-qualified computer science GCSE teacher, while accountancy firm Sage has committed to delivering an AI pilot programme for 150 young people.

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.

Greg Clark, business and energy secretary, concluded: “Today’s new deal with industry will ensure we have the right investment, infrastructure and highly-skilled workforce to establish the UK as a driving force in the development and commercial use of artificial intelligence technologies.

“As with all innovation there is also the potential for misuse which puts the whole sector under scrutiny and undermines public confidence. That is why we are establishing a new world-leading body, to ensure the ethical use of data in AI applications for the benefit of all.”

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