The UK government has unveiled a sweeping package of reforms and investments designed to make artificial intelligence a core driver of national economic renewal, pledging billions in public and private funding, new regional “AI Growth Zones,” and major support for British researchers, startups and industry.

Announced ahead of next week’s Budget, the package includes more than £24 billion in private AI-related commitments made in the past month and the creation of a major new AI Growth Zone in South Wales. Backed by £10 billion from Vantage Data Centers, Microsoft and other partners, the zone is expected to generate at least 5,000 jobs over the next decade across construction, infrastructure and AI research. The site includes the former Ford Bridgend Engine Plant and stretches along the M4 corridor from Newport to Bridgend.

Each Growth Zone will receive £5 million in government support to expand business adoption of AI and develop local skills pipelines. South Wales will now host two Growth Zones, which UK officials say will “transform local economies” and help ensure the benefits of AI are spread across the country.

The government also announced a series of national measures aimed at strengthening Britain’s AI capacity and global competitiveness. These include up to £250 million for free compute access for startups and researchers, a £137 million “AI for Science” initiative to accelerate drug discovery and scientific breakthroughs, and an “advance market commitment” of up to £100 million to act as a first customer for promising UK-made AI hardware.

A new Sovereign AI Unit, chaired by venture capitalist James Wise and backed by nearly £500 million, will coordinate public and private investment to scale homegrown AI companies. Three new AI ambassadors — MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield, and Google DeepMind research vice president Raia Hadsell — will promote adoption of AI across business and public services.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the announcements represent the government’s “Plan for Change in action,” adding that AI investment is helping to cement the UK’s position as Europe’s leading tech hub. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the package is designed to bring “jobs, opportunities and hope” to communities nationwide.

Major international firms have also announced new UK investments, including Groq’s first UK data centre, SoftBank and Graphcore’s new lab in Bristol, and Perplexity AI’s £80 million London expansion.

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