One year on from the UK’s grand AI plan: Has its infrastructure buildout been a success?

The U.K. announced its national AI strategy in January, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the time hailed as a plan to make the country “an AI superpower.”
Big tech commitments to invest in infrastructure to power the tech, alongside pro-data center regulation from the government, are positive signs, say industry stakeholders.
But critics point to the high cost of energy and delays accessing the national grid as key stumbling blocks.

Nearly one year on, and Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google have all committed billions of dollars to AI infrastructure in the country. Four AI growth zones have been unveiled, and homegrown startups like Nscale have emerged as key players in the space.