The British government has announced plans to back 98 artificial intelligence (AI) projects across the country with an injection of £32m.
The funding, which aims to supercharge ‘high-growth’ industries, will benefit over 200 businesses and research outfits.
The projects span a broad range, including improving safety on construction sites to slashing railway repair times and reducing emissions across supply chains.
Among the projects are Nottingham-based Anteam, which is working with the NHS to improve the efficiency of their prescription deliveries using AI algorithms.
V-Lab has snagged £165,006 to refine its AI-driven construction training simulations and Cambridge’s Monumo has won £750,152 to advance its 3D generative-AI tool for electric vehicle motors.
Minister for digital government and AI, Feryal Clark, has touted the funding initiative as “crucial” for the nation. “AI will deliver real change for working people across the UK,” she said, “not only growing our economy but improving our public services.”
“That’s why our support for initiatives like this will be so crucial,” the minister continued, “backing a range of projects which could reduce train delays, give us new ways of maintaining our vital infrastructure, and improve experiences for patients by making it easier to get their prescriptions to them.”
“We want technology to boost growth and deliver change right across the board, and I’m confident projects like these will help us realise that ambition,” Clark added.
Sue Daley, director of tech and innovation at techUK, said this fund, which comes from the UKRI Technology Mission Fund, will offer “considerable return on investment for the UK economy and boost our competitiveness, while supporting those innovators that are putting AI into action.”
However, the announcement comes on the heels of last week’s controversial shelving of £1.3bn in tech and AI funding, a move criticised as “idiotic” and a potential catalyst for a tech brain drain to the US.
It included £800m earmarked for a supercomputer at Edinburgh University and £500m for AI research resources—both axed less than a year after their unveiling.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) defended its decision, citing “difficult and necessary spending decisions across all departments in the face of billions of pounds of unfunded commitments”. The Conservatives said that DSIT underspent during the year.
But it comes at a time when more tech investment is critical, especially if the government is to be taken seriously as the party for growth and business.
“For the UK to become an AI superpower, it needs large-scale funding, backed by a strong policy foundation and governmental support,” said Tom Whicher, chief executive and founder of video consultation platform Drdoctor, commenting on the government’s new funding.
Growth in the UK’s booming tech sector is stalling, as new data points to a sharp slowdown. The number of new technology companies incorporated in the UK fell by 11 per cent in the second quarter of this year, marking the first “marked decline” since early 2022, according to audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK.
Ami Daniel, chief executive and co-founder of UK-listed maritime AI firm, Windward, said that startups downstream from companies like Nvidia are a “natural place” for investment and the new funding could be “transformational” for them.
But Daniel added that “while today’s news is a step in the right direction, it is only a drop in the ocean.”
And another tech founder, Anil Malhotra, of UK digital payments firm Bango, suggested that government would be better channelling funding into the complex social and the legal implications of AI that typically lag technology.
He said: “It would be preferable for the UK to have a legal framework that enables AI to benefit society and maximises competition [and] minimises monopolisation of AI provision.
“Investing in AI products and services is best left to the private investment sector, and for government to maintain tax breaks for early-stage innovation companies,” Malhotra added.