Keir Starmer has outlined a bold new industrial strategy which aims to ensure the UK becomes an ‘AI maker, not an AI taker’ – as the world moves into a new era defined by technology.
The prime minister has presented a 10-year plan that seeks to position the country as an engine of global technology growth and innovation – increasingly driven by cutting-edge research.
Acknowledging that technological advances in life sciences, clean energy, and artificial intelligence are “profoundly” reshaping the economy, with the potential for ‘enormous advances in our productivity and way of life’.
In a foreword to the new plan, the prime minister, chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds write: “The UK is well positioned to take advantage. We are open, entrepreneurial and – as recent deals show – an unashamed champion of global trade. Our finance industry, universities and scientific institutions are all world-leading. And, having restored our international standing, we now offer investors political stability in this uncertain world.”
Among the commitments on AI, the plan includes a proposal to create a new ‘Sovereign AI Unit’ within government to ‘maximise the UK’s stake in frontier AI’; the unit will work closely with the British Business Bank to invest in AI capabilities alongside the private sector.
AI Growth Zones – which have been trailed in previous announcements – were again referenced in the new plan, albeit with little fresh detail as to where they will be located, except to say that they will be ‘confirmed in due course’.
Culham in Oxfordshire was confirmed as the first site to facilitate AI infrastructure and unlock investment in AI-enabled data centres in February. It is hoped that the recent u-turn on a £750 million supercomputer in Edinburgh could be followed by AI growth zone status for south-east Scotland.
Scotland’s existing AI and data infrastructure — such as the Edinburgh International Data Facility, AI research at the University of Edinburgh, and health and life sciences innovation — make it a strong regional candidate for the “AI maker” vision, especially as a host of national AI infrastructure.
Existing AI and data hubs across the Edinburgh-Glasgow corridor and Scottish health innovation clusters may become candidates for future designation as AI Growth Zones.
The life sciences sector will receive up to £600 million to create an AI-ready health data platform, the Health Data Research Service, the new plan confirmed. The emphasis was especially on translating health innovation into real-world impacts, supported by infrastructure and data integration.
The plans will be supported by the government, alongside the Wellcome Trust, to ‘create the world’s most advanced, secure and AI-ready health data platform. This will unite genomic, diagnostic, and clinical data at population scale, turning NHS and wider healthcare data into a magnet for global trials and AI investment.’
The government also outlined a £670 million investment in quantum computing, with guaranteed funding for the National Quantum Computing Centre for the next 10 years. Scotland is a key player in the UK’s quantum technology landscape, with two of the UK’s five quantum research hubs located in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
By 2035, the UK aims to develop quantum computers capable of outperforming conventional supercomputers, potentially meaning new drugs for incurable diseases or better carbon capture technologies, supporting our missions of building an NHS that is fit for the future and making Britain a green clean energy superpower as part of the plan for change.
A new £40 million network of ‘robotics adoption hubs’ will also be established across the UK to accelerate the uptake of robotics and ‘lean processes’ through an expansion of the government’s Made Smarter Adoption programme for SMEs.
Stewart Miller, CEO of the National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt university, welcomed the commitment.
He said: “Today’s £40 million investment to create a network of specialist robotics adoption hubs across the UK represents the most significant step yet towards making the UK a robotics-enabled nation.
“These new facilities will accelerate technology uptake and support businesses in understanding and implementing robotics solutions, bringing together businesses, industry partners, and researchers, with each centre specialising in sectors that match their regional industrial strengths and capabilities.”
He added: “The National Robotarium, a global research institute at Heriot-Watt University, has demonstrated the potential of this approach – in just three years, we’ve introduced the opportunity for robotics to over 500 companies and supported the creation of over 100 jobs through 14 innovative companies developing everything from stroke rehabilitation robots to grain-monitoring systems. This new investment will enable similar models to flourish across the UK, proving that the UK can move beyond being dependent on robotics imports to becoming a worldwide producer and exporter of cutting-edge technology.
“The global robotics race is accelerating, and this investment finally puts the UK in serious contention. We are ready to use our experience and expertise to help ensure these new facilities succeed in transforming the UK’s robotics landscape.”
