UK sets out AI funding package ahead of Budget

UK chancellor John Healey has announced an AI investment package ahead of next week’s Budget, targeting security, research, business adoption and skills. The plans include £10 million per year to study how AI will reshape jobs and industry and address workers’ concerns about replacement.

A new National AI Biosecurity Initiative will receive £165 million, including £100 million for an AI Biosecurity Lab to detect and monitor biological threats and £65 million for biosurveillance and medical countermeasures. OpenAI and Anthropic will provide up to £200 million in AI model credits for the lab, alongside partnerships with Google DeepMind and Basecamp Research. The AI Security Institute will receive an additional £120 million for research and testing.

Cyber defence measures include £60 million for a National Cyber Shield using agentic AI, with a challenge fund and regulatory sandbox supporting domestic companies and security tools. A further £70 million will establish a National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre to identify weaknesses across critical infrastructure.

The Sovereign AI Fund and Sovereign AI R&D Procurement Scheme will each receive an additional £60 million to support domestic businesses and projects. Other measures include £18 million for an advanced chip design academy in Edinburgh, a £15 million AI Challenge Prize initially focused on healthcare, and £30 million for local authority AI partnerships. Manchester will host a new centre to train government cyber security and AI specialists.