{"id":912328,"date":"2026-06-13T03:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T08:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/government-aims-to-make-uk-top-spot-for-open-source-ai\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T03:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T08:12:24","slug":"government-aims-to-make-uk-top-spot-for-open-source-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/government-aims-to-make-uk-top-spot-for-open-source-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Government aims to make UK top spot for open source AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/application-layers-virtualisation-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" data-credit=\"cherezoff - stock.adobe.com\"  width=\"520\" height=\"173\" alt><\/p>\n<p>cherezoff &#8211; stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>AI minister Kanishka Narayan unveils funding for computer access to support open source developers of artificial intelligence technology<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"Cliff Saran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Cliff-Saran\">Cliff Saran,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Managing Editor<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>11 Jun 2026 10:23<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>In his speech at the AI Summit in London, Kanishka Narayan, minister for artificial intelligence (AI) and online safety, said the UK government is aiming to make Britain the home for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchapparchitecture\/feature\/The-industry-is-trying-to-fix-AI-model-licensings-legal-minefield\">open source AI developers<\/a>, to mirror the success of the web.<\/p>\n<p>In his speech, Narayan spoke about the need for the UK to determine its own AI strategy. \u201cWe have to ask honestly, what is the story that we are being told about AI today? Too often, it is a story of AI inevitability. Britain has never accepted that view of progress. We have rejected technological determinism in favour of agency: the agency of our state, the agency of our communities, the agency of our people,\u201d he told delegates attending the headliner stream at the summit.<\/p>\n<p>Referencing the invention of the web, he said: \u201cWhen Tim Berners-Lee made the World Wide Web open, he did something profound. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchenterpriseai\/feature\/Open-source-AI-What-it-means-for-enterprise-innovation\">removed barriers to building<\/a>. He created a platform that anyone could participate in. From the World Wide Web to AlphaFold, Britain has always chosen to open new technologies, not close them down. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best AI tools in the world won\u2019t be built behind closed doors by a handful of companies \u2013 they\u2019ll be built by people who ship code, share it and let others make it better. We want those people choosing to build here in Britain, and we want them to know that this is a country that backs them to succeed,\u201d Narayan said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister used his speech at the AI Summit to speak about the the recent Hack for Impact hackathon and Open Source AI Builder Fund, which he said is worth more than half a million pounds. \u201cIf you build something here that can go further, we will not leave you stuck at prototype,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The recently run hackathon, supported by Nvidia, brought together hundreds of open source AI developers from across the UK to build tools tackling challenges across public services and city infrastructure, using open data from the City of London. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Through the Open-Source AI Builder Fund, Narayan said the UK government is providing \u00a3500,000 worth of compute \u2013 160,000 GPU-hours (graphics processing unit hours) of processing power \u2013 from the UK\u2019s AI Research Resource. The goal is to give projects the AI infrastructure they need to go from prototypes to public AI tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Along with the funding for open source AI, Narayan said the government\u2019s in-house incubator for AI will offer open source AI developers a mentoring scheme through the AI Builder Mentoring Scheme. This aims to pair hackathon winners with experts from the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), the government\u2019s in-house AI team, to help the best ideas become working public tools.<\/p>\n<p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said i.AI has brought in top AI experts from UK universities through an Open Source Fellowship Programme to develop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchenterpriseai\/tip\/How-open-source-AI-models-benefit-developer-innovation\">open source AI tools<\/a> that improve public services, from education to policing. According to DSIT, the AI Builder Mentoring Scheme goes further, backing Britain to become the world\u2019s go-to destination for open source AI builders.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a new Open Source AI Dev Board, which DSIT said gives 10 UK-based developers under the age of 30 a direct line into government so they can influence how AI is used and developed. Chaired by Narayan, the board will convene a series of roundtables over 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Narayan said the board will put the developers \u201cdirectly into the heart of government\u2019s open source AI strategy\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366644212\/UK-minister-of-AI-calls-for-more-attractive-datacentre-builds\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/architect-building-design-blueprint-NanoStockk-getty-RF-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/architect-building-design-blueprint-NanoStockk-getty-RF-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/architect-building-design-blueprint-NanoStockk-getty-RF-hero.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>UK minister for AI calls for more attractive datacentre builds<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"CliffSaran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Cliff\u00a0Saran<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366642362\/Government-funds-self-learning-AI-company\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-Patryk-Kosmider-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-Patryk-Kosmider-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-Patryk-Kosmider-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Government funds self-learning AI company<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/lis pic.jpeg\" alt=\"LisEvenstad\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Lis\u00a0Evenstad<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366642254\/Science-Innovation-and-Technology-committee-chair-questions-UKs-tech-sovereignty-approach\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-sunset-Ekaterina-Pokrovsky-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-sunset-Ekaterina-Pokrovsky-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/London-Westminster-Parliament-government-sunset-Ekaterina-Pokrovsky-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Science, Innovation and Technology committee chair questions UK\u2019s tech sovereignty approach<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Anna-Mahtani-CW-contributor-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"AnnaMahtani\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Anna\u00a0Mahtani<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366639792\/UK-lab-gets-funding-to-drive-foundational-AI-research\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/technology-digital-ai-binary-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/technology-digital-ai-binary-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/technology-digital-ai-binary-adobe.jpeg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>UK lab gets funding to drive foundational AI research<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"CliffSaran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Cliff\u00a0Saran<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366644236\/Government-aims-to-make-UK-top-spot-for-open-source-AI\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Samatha Lupo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>cherezoff &#8211; stock.adobe.com AI minister Kanishka Narayan unveils funding for computer access to support open source developers of artificial intelligence technology By Cliff Saran, Managing Editor Published: 11 Jun 2026 10:23 In his speech at the AI Summit in London, Kanishka Narayan, minister for artificial intelligence (AI) and online safety, said the UK government is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[284,3278,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-912328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-government","category-source","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}