The UK government has announced a major step forward in its international artificial intelligence strategy, unveiling plans for a new UK-EU collaboration that could deliver breakthroughs in healthcare, energy and advanced technologies, while boosting British jobs and economic growth.
From today, UK public research organisations can apply to host the country’s first AI Factory Antenna — a new facility that will link British AI researchers and innovators to Europe’s most advanced supercomputers through the EU’s EuroHPC programme.
The move comes as part of the government’s broader Plan for Change and follows the new UK-EU agreement secured by the Prime Minister earlier this month, which aims to reset trade and cooperation with Europe across multiple sectors, including science and technology.
If successful, the new Antenna site will act as the UK’s gateway to European AI compute infrastructure, providing access to the immense processing power needed to develop large, complex AI models that could tackle global challenges from climate change to cancer research.
“Supercomputers are the turbo-chargers of discovery,” said Feryal Clark, the Minister for AI. “By strengthening our partnership with Europe, we’re giving British innovators the compute power to solve climate and health challenges, grow the economy, and deliver our Plan for Change.
“This is about more than faster processing – it’s about putting the UK at the forefront of global AI. With access to some of Europe’s most advanced systems, our researchers and startups will be equipped to lead on cutting-edge breakthroughs and strengthen Britain’s role as a trusted partner in international AI development.”
The AI Factory Antenna, if approved, will connect UK institutions directly with an AI Factory on the continent, a high-tech site that integrates EuroHPC compute with access to data, training, and technical support.
Up to €5 million will be made available through EuroHPC’s call, and the UK’s chosen host — a public research organisation or consortium — will lead Britain’s government-backed bid. The initiative is expected to shorten development cycles, attract private investment, and create high-skilled jobs.
The collaboration builds on the UK’s growing momentum in compute infrastructure, which includes £44 billion in data centre investment since July 2023. It also complements the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, a strategy that highlights international collaboration on compute as essential to unlocking economic value from artificial intelligence.
The Antenna programme is the first step in what the government hopes will be a deeper integration into European and global AI ecosystems. It also signals a renewed spirit of UK-EU cooperation post-Brexit, as both sides seek to lead in responsible, high-impact AI development.
Later this summer, the government will announce the next AI Growth Zones — regional innovation clusters designed to host AI infrastructure and attract billions in private investment. These efforts are part of the forthcoming Compute Strategy, a ten-year roadmap that will aim to increase the UK’s compute capacity twenty-fold.
The hope is that by anchoring British research to the computational resources of its European neighbours, the UK can take a lead in developing AI solutions that are not only globally competitive but socially transformative — from faster medical diagnostics to clean energy breakthroughs.
Today’s announcement marks a tangible milestone in that journey, with applications now open for the UK’s bid to host this pivotal hub. The first UK AI Factory Antenna could be operational within months — and with it, a new era of transnational AI innovation.
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UK and EU to deepen AI collaboration with launch of new UK ‘AI Factory Antenna’