£36 million government investment into DAWN supercomputer.
- £36 million investment to increase the AI Research Resource supercomputing capacity at Cambridge sixfold by spring 2026
- Cambridge, already home to DAWN - one of the UK's most powerful AI supercomputers - will have more cutting-edge AI chips available free of charge to UK researchers and start-ups
- The DAWN supercomputer is already helping to deliver breakthroughs in areas like healthcare and environmental modelling
British researchers and tech start-ups will get a major boost to develop the AI tools of the future, as the government injects £36 million to increase the power of one of the UK's leading supercomputing centres sixfold (Monday 26 January).
The investment builds on Cambridge's position at the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor - one of Europe's most important centres for science, technology and innovation, home to globally-leading universities, research institutions, and fast-growing tech companies.
This includes backing a new National Computational Resource supercomputer at Cambridge, even further enhancing the compute power available to UK scientists.
Home to the DAWN supercomputer, the University of Cambridge is already part of the AI Research Resource (AIRR) - a national programme that gives free access to the kind of high-powered computing usually only available to the world's biggest tech companies.
Already the supercomputer is having a real-world impact, having supported over 350 projects. Scientists have been using it to develop AI tools that could speed up personalised cancer vaccines, working out exactly which parts of a tumour the immune system needs to target. Others are using it to better understand the changing environment.
This extra AI power computing power will kick in as early as Spring 2026 and will help create everyday benefits like:
- faster, more accurate tools that help doctors spot diseases much earlier
- smarter technology that cuts waiting times and makes public services easier to use
- better climate modelling to help communities prepare for extreme weather
For the first time, UK researchers using AIRR will also get access to AMD's latest MI355X chips - some of the most advanced AI processors in the world - integrated by Dell Technologies, who supply the supercomputer infrastructure. That means bigger datasets, more ambitious ideas and entirely new types of projects that weren't possible before.
Minister for AI Kanishka Narayan, said:
The UK is home to world-class AI talent, but too often our ambitious researchers and most promising start-ups have been held back by a lack of access to the computing power they need.
This investment changes that - giving British innovators the tools to compete with the biggest players and develop AI that improves lives, from spotting diseases earlier to helping communities prepare for extreme weather, right across the country.
Today's announcement also strengthens the UK's computing resilience by diversifying the types of technology our national infrastructure relies on.
Professor Sir John Aston, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, University of Cambridge:
This investment marks an important milestone for the UK's AI Research Resource, expanding the power of Cambridge's DAWN supercomputer and strengthening our national computing ecosystem. It will give researchers, clinicians and innovators the tools they need to drive breakthroughs that improve public services.
The University of Cambridge is proud to work with industry leaders such as Dell to ensure world‑class compute is available to those tackling society's most complex challenges, helping the UK shape the next generation of AI for public good.
The investment sits within the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan , which is backing British AI with over £2 billion in public compute infrastructure - including expanding AIRR twentyfold by 2030 and building a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh.
AIRR, launched in July 2025, gives UK researchers, small businesses, and start-ups free access to the supercomputing power usually only available to the largest tech companies. Alongside Dawn in Cambridge, AIRR currently includes Isambard-AI in Bristol.
Tariq Hussain, UK Head of Public Sector, Dell Technologies:
Working with the UK government and the University of Cambridge, Dell Technologies is ensuring that world‑class AI compute is freely available to the UK's researchers and innovators, so they can turn bold ideas into real‑world impact in areas like earlier disease detection, climate resilience and better public services.
By integrating Dell PowerEdge servers with AMD's latest MI355X accelerators into the DAWN supercomputer as part of the AI Research Resource, we're helping British start‑ups and scientists run bigger models on larger datasets, accelerating breakthroughs that will benefit people and communities across the country.
Notes
The AI Research Resource (AIRR) provides free compute access to UK researchers, SMEs and start-ups working on AI research and development.
The government has committed over £2 billion build out the UK's compute infrastructure, including over £1 billion to expand AIRR by at least twentyfold by 2030, and up to £750 million for a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh.
In the Compute Roadmap, published in July 2025, the government outlined a long-term strategy for these investments in compute capacity.
DSIT
