THE UK government has invested £36 million in an AI supercomputer in a “brilliant move” – but it’s also been denounced by experts as a “hilarious amount” and what “Silicon Valley giants spend before breakfast”.
Any British researcher or startup can use the new Cambridge-based AI supercomputer for free, the government has announced.
Cutting-edge AI costs millions and is dominated by huge companies Google, Microsoft and Meta – small British teams simply can’t afford to compete.
But this money will be used to make the University of Cambridge’s DAWN supercomputer six times more powerful in a matter of months.
British scientists are using this computing power to speed up personalised cancer treatment by working out exactly which bits of a tumour your immune system should target, the government said.
It added that they are building better climate models so your local council knows when flooding is coming and they are creating AI tools that help GPs spot diseases months earlier than they do now.
Currently, over 350 British research projects are using it – the expansion means hundreds more can start.
Minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, said: “The UK is home to world-class AI talent, but too often our ambitious researchers and most promising start-ups have been held back by a lack of access to the computing power they need.
“This investment changes that – giving British innovators the tools to compete with the biggest players and develop AI that improves lives, from spotting diseases earlier to helping communities prepare for extreme weather, right across the country.”
£36 million is a hilarious amount
Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said £36 million could be seen as good value.
She added: “£36 million is good value if it shortens diagnosis timelines, improves local flood planning, or strengthens public services in ways citizens can point to. It’s poor value if the upside materialises later as private IP, locked tools, or acquisitions that move the benefit elsewhere. Public investment should create obligations, not just opportunity.
“Public computers should come with public conditions: visibility over what is built, input on priorities, and clear rules about how benefits flow back. Otherwise this isn’t democratising AI. It’s moving the cost onto taxpayers while leaving the rewards to whoever is best placed to monetise first.”
David Belle, Founder and Trader at Fink Money, said the amount of money invested was laughable.
He continued: “£36 million is a hilarious amount. For context, the US government in 2025 has invested $3.36 billion directly into non-defence AI research and development (R&D). I would gather most of this £36 million will be spent on plans and consultations with nothing actually happening.”
Silicon Valley giants spend that before breakfast
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, said the investment is small but it a “brilliant move”.
He added: “Let’s be real: in the global AI arms race, £36 million is a rounding error. Silicon Valley giants spend that before breakfast. But that’s fine, we don’t need to out-spend them, we need to out-smart them on public value. Expanding access for British researchers is a brilliant move.
“It democratises the tools needed to solve real human problems rather than just generating better ad-copy. However, there is a massive trap we must avoid: socialising the cost while privatising the profit. The danger is that we use taxpayer cash to power the research that builds a new diagnostic tool, only for that tool to be locked behind a paywall and sold back to the NHS at a massive markup.
“If public money provides the infrastructure, the public must retain a stake in the outcome. This investment is great, but only if it results in affordable public goods, not just cheaper R&D for private companies looking to squeeze the taxpayer twice.”
