tech
UK plans to buy AI chips from British firms to stop them leaving for the US
The UK will make “strategic purchases” of AI chips from British firms to keep them in the country. Kendall aims to build a £37B chip industry with 5% global share.
TL;DR
- The UK government will offer strategic purchases of AI chips directly from British technology companies.
- The initiative aims to prevent UK chip companies from being acquired by foreign buyers.
- Plans include taxpayer-backed funding and investment in skills to retain workforces in Britain.
- The broader AI hardware plan targets 5% of the global chip market, estimated at £37 billion in revenue.
- The government has already committed £100 million through ARIA's scaling compute programme.
- Recent departures of UK chip companies like Graphcore and Alphawave IP highlight the urgency.
- Arm, a major UK chip designer, chose New York for its main listing in 2023.
- The government's strategy aims to foster domestic demand and patient capital for scaling companies.
- The plans also address concerns about foreign reliance in government procurement, citing reliance on Microsoft and AWS.
- A £175 million AI contract with London-based Quantexa signals a preference for domestic providers.