Britain intends to increase computing power by 2030

By Alimat Aliyeva

In the next five years, the United Kingdom plans to increase its "sovereign computing power" by 20 times and develop a new supercomputer to boost its global competitiveness in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

According to the report, the new supercomputer will supplement the UK's existing high-performance computing systems, including Isambard-AI at the University of Bristol, which has nearly 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI training, and Dawn at the University of Cambridge. By 2030, the UK aims to create infrastructure with 100,000 GPUs.

This information is included in a report commissioned by Matt Clifford, an expert advising British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The report states that the new facilities will primarily be used for AI applications in academia and government services.

“This plan would position the UK as a global leader in AI,” the head of the British government was quoted as saying by the Financial Times. Clifford's report, titled the AI Capabilities Action Plan, includes 50 recommendations and was submitted to the government in September. Its release was delayed for review by the Cabinet of Ministers. Among the approved recommendations are the creation of "accelerated development zones" for AI and the establishment of the AI Energy Council.