The UK government outlined a package of Artificial Intelligence investment, workplace measures and justice reforms at London Tech Week, alongside the launch of the UK’s first Homelessness Data Lab through Prince William’s Homewards programme. The biggest financial commitment was a GBP £1.1 billion Artificial Intelligence Hardware Plan focused on domestic chip development, research infrastructure and skills. Ministers said it would support British companies working on semiconductors and related technologies while expanding the pipeline of scientists, engineers and technicians.
The plan includes GBP £750 million for a new national Artificial Intelligence supercomputer, due to be deployed in 2030, and GBP £120 million for an Artificial Intelligence Hardware Innovation Programme to help British companies design, develop and test new chips. Officials said GBP £150 million from the supercomputer budget will be used this summer to buy next-generation inference chips, presenting it as an immediate opportunity for British hardware suppliers. Skills are also part of the package, with a further GBP £45 million allocated to doctoral training and undergraduate bursaries to train more engineers, chip designers and technicians.
The strategy also includes private sector backing through a partnership with Arm intended to connect industry expertise with skills development. Playground Global is receiving up to GBP £150 million from the British Business Bank to invest in UK-based Artificial Intelligence hardware companies. Alongside the hardware package, the government set out more than GBP £200 million in support linked to Artificial Intelligence use in the workplace. A GBP £100 million expansion of the Bridge Artificial Intelligence scheme will match British companies with domestic Artificial Intelligence expertise, including support on skills, assurance and implementation guidance.
Ministers said the Artificial Intelligence Skills Boost programme has already recorded 1.7 million completed Artificial Intelligence skills courses, with Cisco, IBM and Deloitte expanding training provision and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Nobel Prize-winning economist Simon Johnson will chair a new Artificial Intelligence Economics Institute, while More than 30 companies, including BT, Rolls-Royce and Accenture, are expected to share data and information on workplace Artificial Intelligence use to help inform policy. A Pro-Worker Artificial Intelligence Exposition Prize will also be introduced to recognise organisations that help workers adapt to Artificial Intelligence or create jobs through its use.
New technology projects in the justice system are intended to address the court backlog and improve routine work, including Artificial Intelligence legal assistants for research and case analysis, as well as changes to case management tools. The Ministry of Justice also cited Justice Transcribe, which it said saves 18,750 days of probation officer time each year. Separately, Homewards launched the UK’s first Homelessness Data Lab with LandAid and Salesforce. More than 25 organisations from business, technology, government, local authorities and frontline services are involved, with pilots planned across Homewards locations in Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
