The UK government will promise to buy emerging chip technology from British companies in a 100 million pound ($130 million) bid to boost growth by supporting the artificial intelligence sector.
Liz Kendall, the science secretary, said the government would offer guaranteed payments to British startups producing AI hardware that can help sectors such as life sciences and financial services.
Under a “first customer” promise modeled on the way the government bought COVID vaccines, Kendall’s department will commit in advance to buying AI inference chips that meet set performance standards.