Boosting National Security and Biosecurity
The Treasury has detailed a £165 million investment for a new National AI Biosecurity Initiative. This includes £100 million dedicated to establishing a world-first AI Biosecurity Lab to apply artificial intelligence to the surveillance and detection of biological threats. Additionally, £65 million has been allocated to strengthen biosurveillance and develop medical countermeasures for priority pathogens. The initiative will be supported by up to £200 million in AI model credits from OpenAI and Anthropic, alongside partnerships with Google DeepMind and London-based life sciences pioneer Basecamp Research. Furthermore, an additional £120 million will be invested in the AI Security Institute to expand its testing and research capabilities.
Strengthening Cyber Defences and Infrastructure
To improve national cyber resilience, the Treasury is investing £60 million into a National Cyber Shield utilising agentic artificial intelligence. This funding incorporates a £25 million challenge fund supporting domestic innovators, alongside scoping for a regulatory sandbox to aid the deployment of cyber security solutions across critical national infrastructure and the public sector. A new £70 million National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre will also deploy artificial intelligence tools to identify vulnerabilities across the economy.
Backing Domestic Firms and Regional Growth
The package includes measures to support homegrown businesses and regional development. An additional £60 million is directed to the Sovereign AI Fund to invest directly in UK artificial intelligence companies, expanding into Physical and Industrial AI sectors such as robotics and autonomous systems. A further £60 million supports the Sovereign AI R&D Procurement Scheme for health, care, and security solutions.