The government has announced it will be spending 拢100m to accelerate its positioning within the global race to produce computer chips that will be used to power artificial intelligence (AI).
The funds, sourced through taxpayer money, will be used to build a national AI resource in Britain, and be ordered through major chipmaking companies such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia.
It was also revealed that the government is already in advanced stages of an order of up to 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia.
The GPUs, also known as graphics cards, play a crucial part of a chip鈥檚 capacity for processing: vital for performing complex actions such as those required by AI.
Steven Mooney, CEO of FundMyPitch, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging to see a substantial investment being made in AI, at a time when the technology is set to completely reshape the way businesses operate.
鈥淗owever, not enough is being done to support the UK鈥檚 home grown tech talent, with far too many ambitious entrepreneurs and innovators struggling to obtain funding, despite producing industry-leading products.
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鈥淭he reality is that for many AI start-ups, getting the opportunity to secure a credible valuation and attract the attention of investors is an almost impossible task. This needs to change immediately if we want to play a leading role in the AI industry.鈥�
An official who was briefed on the plans also added that the 拢100m is relatively low in comparison to investments compared by the US, EU and China.
Fears that the Government鈥檚 action may prove too little, too late are rising in both industry and Whitehall as the UK currently only accounts for around 0.5 per cent of semiconductor sales globally.
In May, Rishi Sunak鈥檚 government revealed plans to invest 拢1bn over the next decade in semiconductor research, design and production, but was a step dwarfed by the US鈥檚 $52bn (拢41bn) Chips Act, and EU subsidies of 鈧�43bn (拢37bn).
The relatively weak investment could stunt progress and potentially leave the UK exposed amid increasing geopolitical tensions over AI chip tech development.
To further strengthen the UK鈥檚 stance on AI, the government is set to hold an AI summit this autumn in Bletchley Park to help establish shared standards and regulation.
A government spokesperson said: 鈥淲e are committed to supporting a thriving environment for compute in the UK which maintains our position as a global leader across science, innovation and technology.
鈥淭he additional money being delivered through UKRI will complement the separate 拢100m investment to establish the Foundation Model Taskforce. Announcements on the AI Research Resource will follow in due course.鈥�