The UK aims to establish a domestic competitor to OpenAI in a quest to become a global leader in AI technology.

• The U.K aims to develop a domestic competitor to OpenAI and significantly enhance its national computing resources.
• The UK government led by Keir Starmer pledged to boost public sector computing capacity by twentyfold by 2030.
• Britain aims to foster the growth of a domestic AI competitor to rival international achievements, such as OpenAI.

The U.K aims to develop a domestic competitor to OpenAI and significantly enhance its national computing resources, as the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to establish the country as a global leader in artificial intelligence.

On Monday, Starmer will visit Bristol, England, to announce a pledge that follows the work of British tech investor Matt Clifford in establishing an "AI Opportunities Action Plan." The plan aims to help the U.K. capitalize on the potential of AI.

The government aims to increase data center capacity in the U.K. to support the growth of AI developers who require high-performance computing equipment hosted in remote locations for training and running their systems.

The U.K. government aims to increase its public sector computing capacity by twentyfold by 2030. To achieve this, the government will start making the AI Research Resource available to the public.

Starmer's administration canceled £1.3 billion of taxpayer-funded spending commitments towards two significant computing initiatives last year in order to prioritize other fiscal plans. The projects, an AI Research Resource and a next-generation "exascale" supercomputer, were pledges made under Starmer's predecessor, Rishi Sunak.

The concept of Sovereign AI has gained traction among policymakers, particularly in Europe, where it pertains to the notion that essential technologies for economic advancement and national security should be constructed and cultivated within the countries where they are being adopted.

The government has pledged to establish AI "growth zones" to enhance Britain's computing infrastructure. In these zones, planning permission rules will be relaxed to facilitate the construction of new data centers.

An AI Energy Council comprising leaders from the energy and AI sectors will be established to investigate the potential of renewable and low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear.

Tech giants such as and are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in small modular reactors (SMR) to provide nuclear energy for their AI systems' data centers.

Building a challenger to OpenAI

The U.K. government's last significant initiative was to establish domestic AI leaders on par with American tech giants, who develop the fundamental AI models that drive current generative AI tools, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.

The UK aims to leverage AI growth zones and a new National Data Library to strengthen its capacity to develop independent AI models that are not dependent on Silicon Valley.

The U.K. faces significant obstacles in its efforts to develop a successful OpenAI alternative. One of the main challenges is the lack of funding that many entrepreneurs in the country have expressed, making it difficult for startups to secure the necessary capital to compete with AI success stories.

The U.K. government has pledged to encourage pension funds to invest more in riskier, growth-oriented startups, as called for by many founders and venture capitalists in the country.

"Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland stated in a CNBC interview that there is $7 trillion in the U.K.'s pocket and if just 5% of it is allocated to innovation, the problem will be solved."

Despite criticism, U.K. tech leaders have generally praised the government's AI action plan. Zahra Bahrololoumi, Salesforce's U.K. boss, told CNBC the plan is a "forward-thinking strategy," adding she's encouraged by the government's "bold vision for AI and emphasis on transparency, safety and collaboration."

Cisco's UK chief technology officer, Chintan Patel, expressed his optimism about the action plan, stating that a well-defined roadmap is crucial for the UK to achieve its goal of becoming a global AI superpower and a top destination for AI investment.

The UK government has not yet established official regulations for AI. Previously, Starmer's administration has stated their intention to create legislation for AI, but specifics are still lacking.

The government recently unveiled a consultation on regulating the utilization of copyrighted material to develop AI systems.

The U.K. is promoting a distinct regulatory framework for AI post-Brexit, which allows for more lenient oversight compared to the EU's strict approach, as stated in its AI Act.