The U.K. took center stage in the AI world this week as NVIDIA, U.K. and U.S. leaders unveiled landmark initiatives to cement Britain’s role as a global AI superpower.
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang capped his visit with an AI ecosystem celebration at Vision Hall in London, where he was joined on stage by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall. Together, they highlighted what Starmer called the nation’s “Goldilocks moment” — the convergence of world-class universities, researchers, startups and investors forming a powerful network to fuel the U.K.’s AI future.
A New Industrial Revolution
“The United Kingdom was the birthplace of the industrial revolution,” Huang said. “Now, as the world’s third-largest AI market — with 3,700 companies and 60,000 employees — it’s uniquely positioned to lead the next one.”
Starmer called the collaboration “the biggest-ever tech agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom,” underscoring shared priorities in AI safety, security, trade and innovation.
Kendall emphasized AI’s potential to open new opportunities for citizens, noting, “The role of government is to open doors … and together with NVIDIA, we can give hope to people in this country.”
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle stressed that this partnership extends far beyond London — to Belfast, Manchester, Edinburgh and beyond — modernizing the “special relationship” between the U.K. and U.S. through AI and digital infrastructure.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick pointed to the urgent need for robust energy and compute resources to power new AI factories: “We must build sufficiently at home so we can care for ourselves — and the rest of the world — if needed.”
£2 Billion Investment in U.K. AI
At the event, Huang announced NVIDIA’s £2 billion investment to accelerate the U.K.’s AI startup ecosystem. Partnering with venture capital firms including Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Phoenix Court, the initiative aims to spark new companies, create jobs and scale AI applications across industries.
“The greatest natural resource of the U.K. is its incredible researchers and scientists,” Huang said. “Your universities are creating critical, independent, and creative thinkers who invent amazing things.”
Over 500 attendees — from startups and venture capital firms to universities and industry — gathered at Vision Hall to exchange ideas, forge partnerships and catalyze growth at the forefront of AI.
Record-Breaking AI Infrastructure for Britain
NVIDIA and its partners also announced several historic milestones for U.K. AI infrastructure:
- 120,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs — the largest AI infrastructure rollout in U.K. history, delivering 100x the power of today’s top supercomputers.
- By 2026, up to 60,000 GPUs will power new AI factories with Microsoft, Nscale, OpenAI and CoreWeave.
- Quantum-GPU Supercenter: NVIDIA and Oxford Quantum Circuits are combining quantum computing and GPU power to advance frontier science.
- Robotics R&D Hub: With techUK and QA, NVIDIA is launching a national program to upskill the next generation of robotics and AI talent.
- Isambard-AI Supercomputer: Built on NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips, it’s the U.K.’s most powerful AI system, based at the University of Bristol, already accelerating breakthroughs in healthcare, climate science and public services.
With these investments and collaborations, the U.K. is positioned to transform its legacy as the birthplace of the industrial revolution into a leadership role in the AI revolution.
