Britain’s AI revolution hinges on compute infrastructure: techUK urges urgent action in AI opportunities action plan
The UK Government’s recently published AI opportunities Action Plan, released on 13 january 2025, lays out an ambitious roadmap to position Britain at the heart of the global AI revolution. techUK welcomes this bold vision, which recognises the transformative power of artificial intelligence to fuel economic growth, societal progress, and national resilience. However, for this vision to succeed, the Government must act swiftly to address the UK’s compute infrastructure challenges, which underpin AI innovation.
Central to the Plan is the acknowledgement that sufficient, secure, and sustainable AI compute is the bedrock of AI capabilities. Compute refers to the large-scale, high-performance computing power required both to train advanced AI models and to deploy them in real-world applications. The Action Plan represents the first time this government has formally indicated its stance on compute infrastructure since the controversial pause of the Exascale programme last year.
While the Plan makes clear the critical role compute plays in enabling the AI revolution, its commitments to publicly owned compute infrastructure appear more cautious than previous Government strategies. Notably, although the Plan contains six recommendations relating to compute, including a promise to outline a 10-year AI infrastructure strategy within six months, it stops short of committing to the previously announced exascale system.
This hesitation is of concern. As the future of compute review in 2022 highlighted, a holistic approach to compute infrastructure—spanning skills, software development, and international partnerships—is essential to address the systemic barriers facing UK businesses and researchers. The delay in defining the UK’s compute roadmap, coupled with an over-reliance on private sector investment, risks Britain falling behind global competitors not just in AI, but in broader scientific, quantum, and technological research domains.
Currently, plans to double the capacity of the AI Research Resource (AIRR) through centres such as Bristol’s Isambard AI and Cambridge’s Dawn are welcome steps. However, these do not appear to be grounded in a broader understanding of the UK’s long-term compute needs, nor do they address compute requirements beyond AI, such as those essential to Britain’s quantum ambitions.
Moreover, with the Government signalling it cannot, and will not, provide all compute needs through public investment, techUK stresses the importance of international compute partnerships. Collaborations with like-minded nations will be crucial in ensuring British researchers and businesses have access to the necessary infrastructure.
The Plan must also prioritise accessibility. Existing compute capacity must be fully leveraged, ensuring that cumbersome barriers are removed, and that compute is accessible across academia, SMEs, and industry. Programmes such as the AIRRFED demonstrator project, which aims to simplify access to federated AI compute resources, demonstrate how modern software stacks can democratise high-performance computing, making it as accessible as commercial cloud services.
More Read
Furthermore, cloud computing should be fully embraced as a legitimate and scalable model for both public and private compute needs. By partnering with commercial cloud providers and exploring initiatives such as cloud compute credits, the Government can make compute resources more accessible, flexible, and scalable to meet evolving demands.
Finally, the Action Plan lacks focus on the semiconductor supply chain vulnerabilities underpinning compute capacity. The global semiconductor ecosystem remains fragile, and Britain must strengthen its resilience to geopolitical and economic shocks that threaten national infrastructure.
techUK believes that exascale capabilities must remain part of Britain’s long-term compute strategy, and urges the Government to provide clarity on its stance. Delays risk missing the moment to lead not only in AI innovation, but in the future of computing itself.
The time for action is now. techUK stands ready to work hand in hand with the Government to ensure that Britain does not miss this critical opportunity, placing compute infrastructure at the heart of its AI ambitions and ensuring our researchers, innovators, and businesses have the tools to thrive.
