‘Resilience or reliance’ – Tech chiefs urge Burnham to spend £20bn on ‘sovereign AI’

Senior British tech executives have urged the government to invest over £20 billion in sovereign AI infrastructure, warning the nation risks becoming reliant on foreign technology in this crucial sector. Signatories to the open letter, coordinated by AI lab Cosine, include representatives from BT, Telefónica Tech, Leonardo, HPE, Kainos, and Sopra Steria.

The letter urges a five-year plan focusing on computing power, data centers, energy, and government procurement, treating AI as "strategic national infrastructure." They argue that nations with reliable access to computing resources, secure pathways, strategic models, and effective procurement will enjoy greater resilience and influence.

The group seeks a Sovereign AI Capability Plan from the government within 90 days and a 10-year strategy to provide companies with greater certainty over investment. This includes supporting British AI models in cyber security, defense, science, and public services, ensuring critical infrastructure isn't dependent on a single AI model or tech stack.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has acknowledged AI's daunting threat, emphasizing that governments cannot leave guardrails to corporations, stating that companies' purpose is to maximize profits. Burnham has pledged to use the G20 presidency to establish international standards for safe AI development. The proposals represent a significant expansion of the government's £500 million Sovereign AI fund, which supports British AI companies and provides them access to state computing resources and procurement opportunities.

The government recently launched the first competitions under a £100 million procurement scheme for smaller British AI companies to secure public sector contracts. AI Minister Kanishka Narayan highlighted that the program would provide "the heft of a nation" to British AI founders, helping them grow and compete globally. Cosine, developing the British frontier model Lumen, advocates for long-term contracts, planning, and energy policies to make the UK more competitive for training and deploying advanced AI.

They also advocate for secure national data environments to allow strategically important models to be trained on British government, defense, and NHS data, subject to privacy safeguards and auditing. The letter emphasizes that this is not a call for technological isolation, rather a means to maintain domestic capabilities while continuing to work with allies.