Labor secures £1.3bn funding for hyper-fast supercomputers and AI projects | Business News

Labor withdrew £1.3 billion of investment in technology and AI projects promised by the Tories.

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) stated that the funding committed by the previous Conservative administration has not been affected in its budget and therefore will not proceed.

It included £800 million towards creating a next-generation exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh – capable of carrying out a billion billion calculations every second – and £500 million in extra money for the AI ​​Research Resource, a scheme that helps fund computing power for AI. .

Around £300 million already earmarked for the AI ​​research capability would continue as planned.

A DSIT spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to building technology infrastructure that delivers growth and opportunities for people across the UK.

“The government is making difficult and necessary spending decisions across departments, faced with billions of pounds of unfunded commitments.

“This is essential to restoring economic stability and fulfilling our national mission of growth.”

O Work The government said it would consider future investment in computer infrastructure following the development of its AI Opportunities Action Plan, which is being led by industry expert Matt Clifford.

The funding cut was criticized by Andrew Griffith, the Conservatives’ shadow science, innovation and technology secretary.

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In a post on social media site DSIT – that’s up to them, but no one should be fooled by Labor trying to blame their predecessors.

“We have increased public spending on research to a record £20 billion a year for 2024/25 and, unlike the Labor Party, we committed to increasing this by a further 10% in our manifesto.

“AI and exascale computing have both been beneficiaries of this increase in funding.”

He added: “In fact, at the time the elections were called, ministers were told by officials that the department was likely to spend less than its budget for the current financial year.”

The future of the exascale supercomputer project remains uncertain, with the University of Edinburgh having already spent £31 million on a new wing of its advanced computing facility, which was built specifically to house the supercomputer.

The first phase of installation was expected to begin in 2025, according to the university’s website.

A university spokesperson said: “The University of Edinburgh has pioneered supercomputing in the UK for decades and stands ready to work with the government to support the next phase of this technology in the UK in order to unlock its benefits for industry, public services and society”.

It is understood that the university’s principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, is urgently seeking a meeting with the technology secretary.