The British government has unveiled the Sovereign AI Unit, a £500 million initiative designed to invest directly in homegrown AI startups and prevent world-class companies from relocating abroad. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the unit, framing it as unlike any previous government programme — structured to operate at the speed of a venture capital fund rather than a traditional public body.
The first equity investment from the unit will go to Callosum, an AI infrastructure startup founded by Danyal Akarca and focused on orchestration platforms that allow AI models and chips to work together across heterogeneous computing environments. A further six startups — Prima Mente, Cosine, Cursive, Doubleword, Twig Bio, and Odyssey — will receive access to the UK’s AI Research Resource supercomputer network, with up to one million GPU hours available per company.
James Wise, chair of the Sovereign AI Unit, said Britain possessed a rare combination of talent, capital, and infrastructure that made it a natural home for global AI leadership, and that the unit would use state capabilities to reinforce those strengths. Chancellor Rachel Reeves identified a thriving domestic AI sector as one of her three central economic priorities.
Beyond funding, backed startups will receive same-day visa decisions and up to ten cost-free visas for international research talent, alongside government support navigating data access, procurement, and regulation.
The announcement was made at the London headquarters of Wayve, the Cambridge-born self-driving AI company. Sovereign AI is currently in discussions with around 30 additional firms over potential supercomputing access, and will launch a UK cities tour in May to broaden the initiative’s reach.
