The government has announced a comprehensive package of investment and reforms in artificial intelligence to accelerate economic growth, support national regeneration and strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in AI.
Ministers put AI at the heart of the UK’s modern industrial strategy, saying the program will unlock billions of pounds of private investment while opening up new opportunities for businesses, researchers and local communities. The focus of the announcement is the creation of a major AI growth zone in South Wales, being developed in collaboration with Vantage Data Centers and Microsoft.
The zone – which spans several sites along the M4 corridor, including the former Ford Bridgend engine plant – will attract £10bn of private investment and create more than 5,000 jobs over the next decade. It will serve as a hub for AI infrastructure, research and advanced digital industries. Additional zones are expected to open in other regions.
Each growth zone will receive £5 million in government funding to help local businesses adopt AI technologies and develop specialist skills in their workforce.
Sachin Agrawal, managing director of Zoho UK, said the government’s commitment to AI is both “timely and visionary” and is essential to ensuring innovation benefits are distributed equitably across the country. However, he warned that companies need to complement adoption with the right culture, skills and governance.
“For companies, the real opportunity lies not only in adopting AI tools, but also in developing the skills, willingness and governance to deploy them responsibly at scale,” he said. “AI expertise and strong data protection standards will be critical to ensure initiatives are credible and designed for long-term impact.”
Agrawal said a structured implementation – with clear pilot programs supported by automation, security and strong oversight – would help companies go “beyond experimentation” and generate sustainable competitive advantages.
To keep UK researchers and start-ups at the forefront of global AI development, the government is also launching a program to expand free and low-cost access to computers. Up to £250 million is earmarked to support training advanced models and accelerating scientific breakthroughs.
Ministers also announced a £100 million upfront market commitment that will enable the government to act as an early customer for UK AI hardware startups. The program is designed to support domestic chip innovation and ensure UK-developed hardware is integrated into the next generation of data centers.
