The Government announced today that Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the UK to deliver national renewal.

With a rich history of pioneering advancements in AI spanning decades, Bristol has ‘deep academic expertise in this space’ and is uniquely placed to help deliver these goals, outlined by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford in his AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The University, recently crowned ‘AI University of The Year’ at the National AI Awards, received an unprecedented £225m Government investment to create Isambard-AI which has been assembled in record time thanks to its Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS) team.

Isambard-AI, situated at the National Composites Centre (NCC), is set to become the UK’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer, purpose-built for AI research following completion in Summer 2025. It will offer capacity never seen before in the UK for researchers and industry to harness the huge potential of AI in fields such as robotics, big data, climate research and drug discovery. Critically, Isambard-AI will also enable the UK’s sovereign AI capability for the first time.

Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, Director of BriCS and a leading expert in Higher Performance Computing (HPC) said: “The University of Bristol is proud to support the UK’s ambitious AI vision with Isambard-AI, the nation’s fastest supercomputer.

“Capable of performing in one second what would take the combined efforts of the entire global population 81 years, Isambard-AI represents a transformative leap forward.

“Already operational and with full production coming this year, it will play a central role in delivering a 20-fold increase in the UK’s AI capability within just a few years—faster and more cost-efficiently than commercial alternatives.

“This is a pivotal moment for AI in the UK."

Evelyn Welch, Vice-chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, said: "This is a vote of confidence for the University and the city.

“Universities have a vital role to play in research and innovation, and in facilitating long-term economic growth.

“AI presents us with many opportunities to fulfil this role. With its world-class technology, Isambard-AI will help nourish talent by providing training and support for students and researchers in advanced computational methods, while fostering interdisciplinary research efforts in the UK and globally.”

Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle said: “AI has the potential to change all of our lives but for too long, we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us. With this plan, we become agents of that change.   

“We already have remarkable strengths we can tap into when it comes to AI – building our status as the cradle of computer science and intelligent machines and establishing ourselves as the third largest AI market in the world.   

“This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI, that’s why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the UK so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today. This is how we’re putting our Plan for Change in motion.”     

Built in a climate-controlled modular data centre being fully installed over the winter of 2024, phase one of Isambard-AI is already up and running. Current AI projects include understanding what role the inflammation of blood vessels plays in heart disease, using camera tracking to determine the health of livestock on farms and producing groundbreaking new vaccines.

Isambard-AI is officially the most sustainable supercomputer in the UK and the second greenest machine in the world as top two in the Green500 list. It has been built in a low-carbon, modular data centre, and there is significant potential to recycle the waste heat output for nearby infrastructure.

From summer 2025, users will also be able to access Isambard-AI phase 2 through the early access call while the system is being tested, which has an additional 5,280 Nvidia Grace Hopper (GH200) superchips.

Researchers and startups are now invited to express interest in accessing Isambard-AI to run large-scale projects. Read more here.