AsianFin — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a £1 billion ($1.35 billion) investment to dramatically scale up the nation’s artificial intelligence capabilities, marking a key policy pledge at the opening ceremony of London Tech Week on June 9.

The funding will be used to increase the UK’s computing power twentyfold and enhance its AI infrastructure, positioning the country to shift from being a consumer of AI technologies to a global producer. The government also aims to ensure that AI delivers significant improvements in public services.

The announcement is part of a broader strategy to solidify the UK’s role in the global AI race and comes amid growing international competition over compute resources, talent, and AI regulation.