The government presented a package of investments and initiatives designed to strengthen the UK's position in artificial intelligence (AI), which includes the launch of an investment fund to support homegrown AI businesses.
The announcements include confirmation of the location of the government's fourth Artificial Intelligence Growth Zone (AIGZ), based in South Wales, and co-developed by Microsoft and colocation company Vantage Data Centres.
The AIGZ will cover multiple sites along the M4 corridor, from Newport to Bridgend, with participating technology companies invited to partner with local universities to help build a pipeline of AI talent to support these efforts over the coming years.
AIGZ is now in the process of seeking an investor to support the expansion of artificial intelligence computing capabilities at the 1GW facility, the government has confirmed. which is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs in the region over the next decade.. The AIGZ is the second one the government has announced in recent weeks, with the first, incidentally, to be located in North Wales.
Joe Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales, said the creation of two AIGZs in the country would have a transformative impact on its economy. “South Wales is already home to a growing technology industry and this major investment in the region will help cement the UK’s place as a global leader in artificial intelligence,” Stevens said.
The AIGZ initiative, announced in January 2025, saw hundreds of local governments and other technology market participants express interest in participating as the government invited them to apply for the possibility of creating one of these zones in their areas.
The initiative aims to support the build-out of artificial intelligence computing capacity in the UK, offering millions of pounds of investment and fast-track planning processes for organizations that want to build an artificial intelligence data center and research capacity in their regions.
It's all part of the government's wider push to position the UK as an “AI superpower”, which today (Thursday 20 November) announced several other investment initiatives to support its mission. These include the creation of a £500 million Sovereign AI Unit, led by venture capitalist James Wise, which will focus on developing homegrown AI capabilities in the UK, offering financial support to new AI businesses.
The government said the unit aims to bring together government, industry and investors to become the “go-to fund” for UK start-ups and high-potential AI projects and will launch next year.
Wise said: “This will be a new type of public fund – one that is designed to be the first choice for founders building important parts of the UK's AI infrastructure and economy, one that harnesses the enormous power of the UK state to scale our AI breakthroughs, and one that aims to deliver meaningful returns for the UK taxpayer.”
In addition, the government has also promised to provide more free computing power to UK researchers and start-ups through a £250 million scheme to speed up the development of new artificial intelligence models that can be used to achieve new scientific breakthroughs.
As part of this, the government has also pledged £137 million to support the use of artificial intelligence in drug development and the creation of new treatments.
Liz Kendal, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said the announcements demonstrate the government's commitment and belief that Britain's “best days are ahead” as AI opens up new opportunities for job creation and growth.
“We are committed to doing even more to ensure we support UK businesses, workers and researchers so they can benefit from the opportunities that artificial intelligence brings,” she said. “This is about creating jobs, opportunity and hope for the people and places that need it most and delivering on our promise of change.”
