The UK government will invest £100m in an effort to gain a foothold for the UK on the global stage of producing computer chips that power artificial intelligence.
Taxpayer funds will be used to create a national AI resource for Britain that is similar to resources being developed in the US, and other countries. The funds are expected to be used for ordering key components from the major chipmakers Nvidia AMD and Intel.
An official who was briefed about the plans stated that the £100m offered to the government by the government is much too low compared to investments made by other countries in the EU, US, and China.
In a move that was first reported and revealed the investment, the official confirmed the government has placed an order for up to 5,000 graphics processor units (GPUs).
As the AI race heated up, the company’s value has increased dramatically. Its chips are capable of running language learning models like ChatGPT.
GPUs, also called graphics cards, are the components that will be ordered. They are critical to the processing power of chips. This is important for AI and other complex tasks.
In both industry and Whitehall, there is growing concern that UK government actions may be too little too late. The UK is responsible for only 0.5% of global sales.
Rishi Sunak’s government announced in May plans to invest £1bn over 10 years into semiconductor research, development and production. This is dwarfed by US $52bn ($41bn PS) Chips Act and EU subsidies worth €43bn (+£37bn).
The UK could be exposed to geopolitical tensions due to a halt in progress caused by relatively low investment.
The White House took action earlier this month to prohibit US investment in advanced Chinese semiconductors. This move came only three months after China warned that chips made by US-based Micron posed a security threat.
Sunak is trying to convince partners abroad that Britain could act as a link between the US, and China in this issue.
The UK will hold an AI Summit this fall as part of the government’s initiative. This summit is aimed at creating some common standards for technologies that some people believe may pose a risk to humanity’s future.
UK Research and Innovation, an independent funding agency, leads the effort in securing the UK’s orders with major chip makers, along with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
A spokesperson for the government said: “We’re committed to supporting a thriving computing environment in the UK that maintains our status as a leader globally across science, technology and innovation.”
The additional funding provided by UKRI will complement the PS100m separate investment for the Foundation Model Taskforce. The AI Research Resource announcements will be made in due time.”