UK partners with EU to deliver AI-powered breakthroughs

The UK-EU deal has triggered a new AI collaboration that will link British innovators to the continent’s top supercomputers.

The UK Government is calling on public research organisations to apply to host an AI Factory Antenna – a facility that, if approved, would act as a gateway to the European sites.

The deal will allow British researchers to “lead on cutting-edge breakthroughs” and “strengthen Britain’s role as a trusted partner in international AI development”, AI minister Feryal Clark said.

Under the new plans, the UK would work with the EU-based “AI factories” to tackle pressing challenges including climate change and disease.

Access to such compute power – the high-performance processing capability needed to handle vast data and complex models - is considered the “the engine of progress in AI”, the UK Government said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been clear about his ambition for the UK to become an AI global superpower, describing the technology as the “defining opportunity of our generation”.

Both Starmer and John Swinney have placed the technology at the heart of their plans for public sector form. In February, the first minister pledged to create AI centres of excellence to “capitalise” on its potential as part of his strategy to deliver “better and smarter care”.

Clark said: “Supercomputers are the turbochargers of discovery. By strengthening our partnership with Europe, we’re giving British innovators the compute power to solve climate and health challenges, grow the economy, and deliver our Plan for Change. 

“This is about more than faster processing – it’s about putting the UK at the forefront of global AI. With access to some of Europe’s most advanced systems, our researchers and startups will be equipped to lead on cutting-edge breakthroughs and strengthen Britain’s role as a trusted partner in international AI development.”

The chosen organisation will be endorsed by the UK Government for submission to EuroHPC’s call for AI Factory Antennae.

The EuroHPC is an EU-led initiative that pools supercomputing resources from 35 countries to develop European computing infrastructure and research capabilities.

If successful, the firm will receive up to €5m in funding and partner with a European AI factory to link British researchers to the continent’s supercomputers.  

This will enable UK scientists, startups and public institutions to build larger, more complex AI models, shortening development cycles, accelerating innovation, and creating high-skilled jobs across the country. 

The new expression of interest comes ahead of anticipated government technology-related announcements, with ministers expected to reveal the next sites for AI Growth Zones this summer.

The announcement comes at the back of an UK-EU trade deal, that ministers say will help to "grow the economy, back British jobs and put more money in people's pockets".