US-UK pact will boost advances in drug discovery, create tens of thousands of jobs and transform lives
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Transatlantic pact to speed up world-leading AI research to help
develop new drugs, faster life-saving treatments and improved
cancer care. Alliance ushers in golden age of nuclear
technology, delivering clean, homegrown energy and unlocking
high-paying jobs for the British people. North East set
to become new AI Growth Zone – creating potential for more than
5,000 jobs and billions in private investment – as well as major
deal struck between...Request free
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The first ever UK-US tech agreement will bring new healthcare breakthroughs, clean homegrown energy, and more investment into local communities and businesses in Britain and the United States. As part of the US President's State Visit, the UK and US have agreed the Tech Prosperity Deal, focused on developing the fastest growing technologies like AI, quantum, and nuclear. This comes as America's top technology and AI firms – like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI and CoreWeave – commit a combined £31 billion to boost the UK's AI infrastructure and cutting-edge tech, from data centres to computer chips, the processing power behind AI. Today's commitments build on the £44 billion in investment into the UK's AI and tech sector under this Government. Under the partnership, the UK and US will put joint resources and expertise into making emerging technologies a shared success for British and American people:
As part of the pact, the UK and US will unite to forge joint research schemes to further the use of AI to allow for targeted treatments and other shared priorities like fusion energy. This could see both countries working together to build new AI models for life-changing breakthroughs like developing targeted treatments for those suffering with cancer or rare and chronic diseases. This landmark deal is already bearing fruit. A raft of investments and partnerships worth a combined £31 billion have been injected into the UK today – focused on building new data centres and growing AI start-ups, cutting-edge tech, as well as developing advanced quantum computers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This Tech Prosperity Deal marks a generational step change in our relationship with the US, shaping the futures of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, and delivering growth, security and opportunity up and down the country. “By teaming-up with world-class companies from both the UK and US, we're laying the foundations for a future where together we are world leaders in the technology of tomorrow, creating highly skilled jobs, putting more money in people's pockets and ensuring this partnership benefits every corner of the United Kingdom.” Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “This partnership will deliver good jobs, life-saving treatments and faster medical breakthroughs for the British people. “Our world-leading tech companies and scientists will be working together to transform lives across Britain. “This is a vote of confidence in Britain's booming AI sector – building on British success stories such as Arm, Wayve and Google Deepmind – that will boost growth and deliver tens of thousands of skilled jobs.” Boosting the UK's status as an AI maker, NVIDIA will join forces with companies across the UK to deploy 120,000 advanced GPUs across the UK, representing its biggest ever rollout in Europe to date. This infrastructure is the building block of AI technology, able to carry out a huge number of calculations in a split second. This includes the deployment of up to 60,000 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell Ultra GPUs from British firm Nscale who will partner with OpenAI to deliver a Stargate UK project and establish a partnership with Microsoft to deliver the UK's largest AI supercomputer in Loughton. One of the areas set to benefit is the North East, where a new AI Growth Zone will be established and is expected to host some of the initial deployment of the Stargate UK project at Cobalt Park. Semiconductor designs by leading British chip design company Arm form part of Nvidia's latest Grace Blackwell series of chips, demonstrating further collaboration between UK and US companies. Further investment in data centres – the factories powering AI – as well as start-ups in AI and beyond is also being set out:
Founder and CEO of NVIDIA Jensen Huang said: “Today marks a historic chapter in U.S.–United Kingdom technology collaboration. “We are at the Big Bang of the AI era — and the United Kingdom stands in a Goldilocks position, where world-class talent, research and industry converge. “By building state-of-the-art AI infrastructure and investing in British startups, we are unlocking the power of AI for the U.K. — fuelling breakthroughs, creating jobs, and igniting the next industrial revolution.” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said: “The UK has been a longstanding pioneer of AI, and is now home to world-class researchers, millions of ChatGPT users, and a government that quickly recognized the potential of this technology. Stargate UK builds on this foundation to help accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve productivity, and drive economic growth. This partnership reflects our shared vision that with the right infrastructure in place, AI can expand opportunity for people and businesses across the UK.” Josh Payne, Nscale CEO said: "We're delighted to announce Nscale's commitment to UK AI infrastructure today, including through Stargate UK and building the most powerful supercomputer in the country. As a UK-based company, we're showing how we can be makers, not takers, of the most important technology of our time." Rene Haas, CEO of Arm: “The launch of Stargate UK represents a critical step in expanding Britain's AI computing power and digital infrastructure. As a company founded and headquartered in the UK, Arm is proud to be at the forefront of the nation's semiconductor plans and to be a technology partner for Stargate UK, delivering the computing platform that makes scalable, energy-efficient AI possible.” “We're committed to creating new opportunity for people and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, and to ensuring America remains a trusted and reliable tech partner for the United Kingdom,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "That is why we are doubling down on our investment in the UK, investing more than $30 billion over four years, including building the country's largest supercomputer." This follows renewed commitments from US companies Oracle and Amazon Web Services in the UK. Oracle has committed to expanding the AI infrastructure it provides to the UK government reaffirming their $5 billion investment over the next five years. Whilst Amazon also earlier this year announced a commitment to build and operate data centres across the UK with an £8 billion investment. Showcasing how British technological excellence drives prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, UK-based quantum computing company Oxford Quantum Circuits installed New York City's first quantum computer, in collaboration with NVIDIA and Digital Realty, and launched a pioneering Quantum-AI Data Centre just outside of the city. US quantum firm IonQ is setting up its EMEA headquarters and a new R&D and manufacturing hub in Oxford, following a $1bn merger with UK start-up Oxford Ionics. The investment will create high-skilled jobs, boost UK quantum exports, and is a flagship example of US/UK collaboration in next-generation technologies. NOTES TO EDITORS Artificial intelligence The UK and US Governments will forge a historic research collaboration to advance the use of AI in drug discovery and other shared priorities like fusion energy. The UK and US will work together to drive AI-powered healthcare solutions in areas such as precision medicine and chronic disease – leveraging cutting-edge technologies and existing trusted and secure datasets, such as UK Biobank. UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and ARPA-H will also collaborate to co-create breakthrough research topics with the potential to catalyze investments that will redefine what is possible in medicine and patient care. The partnership will see AI models developed by NASA and the UK Space Agency to supportscience and exploration missions, like those on the moon and Mars. The deal will also create new opportunities for business and investment, as both countries look to scale up their AI infrastructure. This will be a boost to British businesses behind the infrastructure, like those creating the next generation of semiconductor chips that power AI all the way to those who operate data centres and other compute resources. The partnership will deepen the collaboration between the UK and US governments on advancing the science of AI security and promoting secure innovation – including by exchanging world-leading talent and expertise. By working together and alongside industry to develop standards we can promote the prosperity of consumers and the safety of our citizens, ensuring that the UK and US lead the world in understanding and harnessing advanced AI. Quantum technologies The UK and US will partner to develop revolutionary quantum computers and speed up the deployment of this technology across areas like healthcare, defence and finance. This will boost healthcare, protect citizens and create highly skilled jobs. For example, millions of patients could receive life-saving treatments faster thanks to this groundbreaking deal. Traditional drug discovery takes years and costs millions because it relies on simulating countless molecular interactions. Quantum computers can speed this up dramatically by simulating molecules more accurately and quickly than ever before. Quantum tech is already saving lives, including by helping to study and treat epilepsy and dementia or providing clearer insights into our brains for brain scans. This UK–US partnership could unlock even faster breakthroughs, bringing life-changing treatments to patients sooner and transforming the future of healthcare. Under the deal, the two countries will establish a taskforce of the UK and US's top researchers to discover and accelerate breakthroughs in quantum technologies. An exchange programme across industry will also be created to spur adoption across defence, health, finance, and energy. Through the combined strength of national labs, the genius of British and American scientists, and the agility of leading companies, we can deliver unmatched innovation and keep our countries safe, prosperous, and leading the pack. Nuclear The partnership will turbocharge the build-out of new nuclear power stations to secure jobs and growth in the UK and US. New deals between UK and US companies announced this week have been enabled by the partnership, which will make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations by speeding up the time it takes for a nuclear project to get a license. The partnership also extends to fusion energy, where British and American expertise will fast-track progress towards commercial fusion power. This golden age of nuclear is central to the government's mission to build more clean homegrown power to ensure energy security. |