The UK’s largest public research funder UKRI has set out its first-ever plan to put AI to work for the nation’s world-leading innovators.

In the recent Spending Review settlement, UKRI committed a record £1.6 billion of funding directly targeted at the AI sector over the next 4 years, its biggest single investment area for 2026 to 2030.

This includes funding for specific activity that UKRI will deliver on behalf of  the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – which is subject to change as delivery plans are finalised. It also sits alongside significant additional AI investment woven through the broader UKRI budget.

The new strategy signals UKRI’s intention to make major investments in mathematics, computer science and engineering research which underpin AI expertise.

World-class researchers and businesses across the UK will also benefit from better access to the right tools, training and infrastructure to unlock new growth across the UK. This will help bring to life innovations that make people’s lives better – a key theme of the India AI Impact Summit which continues this week.

“The UK is backing its pioneering AI leadership with more than £1.6 billion in investment to make sure the best of British expertise develops the next wave of AI innovations,” deputy prime minister David Lammy said.

“Together we are turning potential into progress and that’s the ambition I am bringing to the AI Summit in India this week.

“From spotting cancers earlier to cutting backlogs in public services, new research into AI will be a game-changer, bringing the promise of tomorrow’s technologies to the UK today.”

The strategy also commits to expanding doctoral and fellowship routes co-designed with businesses. It will also support recognised career frameworks for research software engineers, data scientists and ethics specialists – supporting the high-paying jobs of the future.

“The potential of combining our AI expertise with our peerless R&D community is a game-changer. This plan will harness AI to accelerate both the pace and possibility of scientific endeavour,” UK AI minsiter Kanishka Narayan said.

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“We are already seeing AI change the game for what’s possible in fields from health, to energy, and beyond. Boldly backing this technology is how we push our Great British innovators to further success, and build a path to breakthroughs that boost our health, wealth, and wellbeing.”

The new strategic framework will see investment focused on six priority areas: advancing technology development; transforming research through AI; developing AI skills and talent; accelerating innovation for economic growth and societal benefit; championing responsible and trustworthy AI; building world-class AI data infrastructure.

Central to UKRI’s plan is building a strong research and innovation community which will support them with the skills they need to become the AI leaders of the future.

Under the new strategy UKRI will help deliver up to £137 million as part of DSIT’s AI for Science Strategy to back AI-enabled scientific discovery starting with drug disovery and new treatments.

It will also deliver £36 million to upgrade the University of Cambridge’s “DAWN” supercomputer supporting breakthroughs in areas like healthcare and environmental modelling.