UK Government unveils expanded AI strategy and investment commitments

Secretary of State Liz Kendall announced new elements and accelerations of the UK Government’s AI strategy in a speech at Bloomberg on 28 January 2026.

• Main announcement: The Secretary of State confirmed expanded UK AI initiatives including 4 AI Growth Zones, a £750 million commitment “up to” for a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh, expansion of the AI Research Resource (backed by £1 billion), and a standalone Sovereign AI Unitbacked by £500 million chaired by James Wise (Balderton Capital); she also announced the creation of a Future of Work Unit and targets to upskill 10 million workers by 2030 (including 2 million in SMEs) and £27 million for the TechLocal programme.
• Background and implementation details: The speech referenced delivery progress (“three quarters of the actions” from the 2025 AI Action Plan), £5 million per AI Growth Zone for local AI adoption support, expansion of Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme, new regulatory measures via the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) and new AI sandboxes (including the AI Growth Lab), and partnerships with private-sector firms and public bodies (list includes Accenture, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sage, NHS, CBI, TUC).