Scotland will be home to the UK’s most powerful supercomputer to drive forward innovations that grow our economy and ensure people are better off, putting Edinburgh at heart of the UK’s plans to unlock a decade of national renewal through artificial intelligence.
The news comes after the Prime Minister kicked off London Tech Week by unveiling £1 billion of extra funding to scale up the country’s AI compute power twenty-fold. Following that announcement, the Chancellor has now confirmed up to a further £750 million to build the UK’s new national supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, strengthening Britain’s position as an AI-maker and research power, with researchers and start-ups backed to deliver new waves of innovations and discoveries.
Edinburgh’s new supercomputer will give scientists from across the UK the compute power they need for cutting edge research and making the next big breakthrough – whether that’s personalised medical treatments, making air travel more sustainable, or modelling climate change.
The supercomputer will work alongside the AI research resource, a network of the UK’s most powerful supercomputers that were built to bolster scientific research. The AI Research Resource, which is due to come into operation soon, is already being used to research Alzheimer’s vaccines and treatments for cancer by simulating how drugs work inside the body and ‘testing’ millions of potential drugs virtually to speed up the creation of new medicines.
Ahead of that moment, the Isambard system has this week been ranked in the top ten globally and top 5 in Europe for publicly available supercomputers. According to the latest Top500 rankings, it also ranks as a leader in terms of efficiency, setting a clear benchmark of how the UK government is delivering on its AI ambitions while driving forward its mission to become a clean energy superpower.
UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said:
From the shipyards of the Clyde to developments in steam engine technology, Scottish trailblazers were central to the industrial revolution – so the next great industrial leap through AI and technology should be no different.
Basing the UK’s most powerful supercomputer in Edinburgh, Scotland will now be a major player in driving forward the next breakthroughs that put our Plan for Change into action.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:
"We are investing in Scotland’s renewal, so working people are better off."
"Strong investment in our science and technology sector is part of our Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth, and as the home of the UK’s largest supercomputer, Scotland will be an integral part of that journey."
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