The UK Government has announced a £36 million investment to expand access to advanced artificial intelligence computing, backing a major upgrade of the University of Cambridge’s DAWN supercomputer.
Ministers say the move will give British researchers and startups free access to high-performance AI computing power that is typically dominated by global technology giants, helping to level the playing field for smaller teams working on public-interest innovation.
The funding will increase DAWN’s capacity sixfold within months, allowing hundreds more research projects to run alongside the 350 already using the system. The government says the upgraded supercomputer will support breakthroughs in personalised cancer treatment, climate modelling and earlier disease detection in primary care.
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, British scientists are already using DAWN to identify which parts of a tumour the immune system is most likely to attack, refine flood prediction models for local authorities and develop AI tools that could help GPs diagnose conditions earlier.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the investment addressed a longstanding barrier for UK innovation.
“The UK is home to world-class AI talent, but too often our most ambitious researchers and startups have been held back by a lack of access to computing power,” he said. “This investment gives British innovators the tools they need to compete with the biggest players and build AI that delivers real benefits, from healthcare to climate resilience.”
While the announcement has been welcomed as a practical step to support domestic research, industry figures are divided over whether the scale of funding matches the global reality of AI investment.
Colette Mason, author and AI consultant at Clever Clogs AI, said the value of the investment depends on how its outcomes are governed.
“£36 million is good value if it shortens diagnosis timelines, improves flood planning or strengthens public services in ways people can see,” she said. “It’s poor value if the upside ends up locked into private intellectual property or acquisitions that move the benefit elsewhere. Public investment should come with public conditions.”
Others were more sceptical. David Belle, founder of Fink Money, contrasted the funding with levels of investment seen elsewhere.
“In global terms, £36 million is a tiny sum,” he said. “The US has committed billions to non-defence AI research. There’s a risk this money disappears into planning and consultation rather than delivery.”
However, Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder of Pattrn Data, argued that the investment should be judged on focus rather than scale.
“In the global AI arms race, £36 million is a rounding error. Silicon Valley spends that before breakfast,” he said. “But the UK doesn’t need to out-spend Big Tech, it needs to out-think it. Expanding access to compute for British researchers is a smart move, provided the public retains a stake in what gets built.”
The government says the DAWN expansion forms part of its wider AI strategy to improve access to compute, accelerate applied research and ensure public-sector challenges, from healthcare to climate adaptation, are not sidelined by commercial priorities.
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UK invests £36m in AI supercomputer to boost research and startup innovation