London Tech Week: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Keir Starmer unveil AI push
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and Keir Starmer unveiled a major AI push at London Tech Week this morning.
The two figureheads have unveiled a range of changes to boost Britain’s AI infrastructure, research and industrial capacity, to help the UK become an “AI maker, not an AI taker.”
US chip maker Nvidia, a leading player in the global AI race, has launched the first UK sovereign AI industry forum in partnership with major British firms, it was announced at this morning’s opening session.
Founding members include BAE Systems, BT, Babcock, National Grid and Standard Chartered.
The forum pledges to strengthen the UK’s domestic computing capabilities by 20 times and support the nation’s booming AI startup ecosystem with a £1.5bn investment.
“This is a huge vote of confidence for the UK”, announced Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he opened London Tech Week. “We are truly leaning into this, and we are excited about the potential this could, and will have on millions on people”.
Starmer described the broader implications of the technology for British society and public services.
“AI and tech make us more human”, he said, “and it is making a huge difference for working people”.
“We’re now looking at how it can speed up hugely important areas like hospitals or education”, he added.
UK AI infrastructure and investment
Nvidia’s chief Jensen Huang also addressed the forum, calling the moment “extraordinary”, and describing the UK as “one of the richest AI communities globally”, citing its research institutions, startup ecosystem, and academic strength.
“The UK is the third largest AI venture capital ecosystem in the world”, said Huang “It’s just missing one thing – and that is infrastructure. That’s why Keir Starmer’s announcement of more computing investment in the UK is so vital”.
The UK is the leading destination for AI investment in Europe, and according to the government, over $28bn in private investment has been poured into the sector since 2013.
What’s more, recent analysis by consultancy Public First linked increasing data centre capacity with faster economic growth.
The report also suggested that a significant expansion in AI infrastructure could add up to £36.5bn annually to the national economy.
Cloud providers Nscale and Nebius also used London Tech Week’s opening to announce their new UK-based deployments.
Whilst Nscale plans to install 10,000 of Nvidia’s latest GPUs by the end of 2026, Nebius said it would bring 4,000 of them online, with applications across research and public services.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle welcomed the series of announcements, dubbing infrastructure as “central” to the government’s AI strategy.
“We’re looking across all the functions of government in each of the departments”, said Starmer. “I’ve asked every single department to take on the challenge: how can you use AI and tech to transform what you’re doing?”
Skills and public sector integration
Nvidia said it will also support the government’s skills agenda by launching a new AI technology centre in the UK – a £185m investment into education at school and university level will help to “build a better future” for children across the UK.
The centre will offer training in AI, data sciences and accelerated computing, targeting areas like foundation models and climate modelling.
“We’re making a step change in how much homegrown talent we have”, added the Prime Minister, “and we’re going to bring in full powers of government with a new tech-first training program, which will train up to one million young people”.
In financial services, the Financial Conduct Authority plans to deploy an AI-powered ‘digital sandbox’ to allow for safe testing of new technologies.
Meanwhile, Barclays Eagle Labs also announced an innovation hub in the capital, focused on AI and deep tech startups.
Nvidia will provide support through its ‘Inception’ programme, which offers early-stage firms access to tools and training.
UK universities are also central to the broader strategy, with the JADE consortium —a collaboration between Oxford University, the Turing Institute, and 20 other institutions —utilising Nvidia technologies for AI development and safety research.
Projects include a digital twin of the human body at University College London, the Isambard-AI supercomputer at the University of Bristol, and pollution-modelling systems at the University of Manchester.
‘The UK is a fantastic place to invest’ in AI
“The UK is a fantastic place to invest,” Huang said. “Infrastructure enables more research, more research leads to more breakthroughs, and breakthroughs lead to more companies.”
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology confirmed it is working with Nvidia to expand AI-related telecoms research, with tools and training made available to leading UK universities.
Several British companies are already using Nvidia’s platforms in commercial applications. Wayve is developing AI for autonomous driving; JBA Risk Management is using AI for climate risk modelling; and Stability AI is building generative AI tools for text and image generation.
Nvidia’s Inception programme is also supporting UK startups, including Basecamp Research, which applies AI to drug discovery, and Synthesia, which uses AI to generate multilingual video content.
Other prominent UK firms are integrating AI into existing operations. BT is deploying autonomous systems for network operations, LSEG is incorporating AI into its data platforms, and NatWest is utilising AI to enhance customer service and improve fraud detection.
“AI is not just a technology issue,” Starmer added. “It is infrastructure – it supports healthcare, government, education, manufacturing, and financial services.”
Starmer also credited the industry’s role in helping shape Britain’s future economy: “Thank you to the tech sector for stepping up. We want to go further… this industry supports over 2m jobs. It is vital that we harness the power of this technology.”