UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced a £76 million investment to launch four new national compute resources.

This major funding boost will provide the powerful ‘digital engines’ needed to solve some of society’s biggest challenges, from healthcare to climate change.

The new compute resources will be led by four UK universities: the University of Edinburgh, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, and University College London.

The £76 million public investment is the first major step in delivering the UK Compute Roadmap, UKRI says, which was launched in July 2025 to make the UK a global leader in high-tech research.

While super computing was once reserved for niche technical fields, these four new resources are designed for everyone in the research community.

The four NCRs are expected to be fully up and running for researchers by 2026 to 2027 with at least two of them launching in summer 2026.

To ensure researchers get the most out of this technology, UKRI will also be launching community centres of excellence.

They will provide expert training and support, helping a wider range of people use these digital tools to advance their work.

More details on the community centres of excellence will be shared in the coming months.

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“This £76 million investment marks a pivotal moment in our mission to build a world-class, integrated compute ecosystem for the UK.

“By establishing these four National Compute Resources, we are delivering directly on the ambitions set out in the 2025 UK Compute Roadmap and providing the ‘cornerstone’ infrastructure needed to push the boundaries of British research,” UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure Programme Director Richard Gunn said.

“This programme represents a step-change in the UK’s compute capabilities, establishing a more accessible and sustainable compute landscape in the UK and enhancing the way we support researchers and innovators.

“These resources are designed to be truly user-centred, offering a diverse range of architectures that will be more accessible to a much broader community, from climate scientists to AI researchers.

“By lowering the barriers to high-performance computing, we are not just advancing knowledge; we are providing the tools to drive economic growth and solve complex challenges across every sector of our society.”