UKRI launches two AI research labs to stay ahead in global race

Backed by a £60 million investment, one lab will focus on creating open-source AI that can run on widely available hardware.

The other will pioneer new approaches enabling AI to learn without vast centralised computing power.

The two UK AI research labs will be led by University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford.

The labs will work in collaboration with partners including the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Imperial College London.

They will share up to £60 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to rethink:

• how AI works
• how AI learns
• how AI can be made more open, efficient and useful for the UK

The labs will build and expand partnerships across academia, industry and the public sector, helping translate fundamental advances into real-world impact.

The breakthroughs they pursue could transform sectors across the economy and society, from healthcare and education to small businesses, public services, science and advanced industry.

The technology they develop will help the UK’s tech industry.

It will focus on areas where the UK has a real chance to lead globally, such as:

• AI that works across different types of systems and data
• how people and AI can work together more effectively

Both labs will actively support the commercialisation of the research with targeted support for entrepreneurship and spin-outs.

This investment backs British research to:

• build future generations of AI technologies in the UK’s world-class universities
• develop open-source UK technology based on readily accessible technology
• reduce our dependence on reliance on large technology providers and remote data-centre infrastructure

AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said:

We are only just beginning to unlock AI’s huge potential to grow our economy and improve our public services.

With our world-leading universities and deep pool of AI expertise, Britain can set the agenda for what comes next.

These new labs will lead the world in the fundamental work that is set to make AI cheaper, more practical and easier to adopt so more businesses and public services across the UK can benefit.

And by building this capability here at home, backed by our world leading universities, we’re strengthening our own expertise, reducing reliance on others and securing Britain’s place at the forefront of this technology – fittingly announced on what would have been Alan Turing’s 114th birthday.

Professor Charlotte Deane, Senior Responsible Owner for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) AI Programme and Executive Chair of EPSRC, said:

The UK is already one of the world’s leading nations in AI research.

We are one of the few countries in the world with all the right ingredients, from a deep pool of top AI experts to world-class universities.

These labs will put that advantage to work, backing the bold, high-reward ideas that can shape the future of AI.

We look forward to working with the labs to maximise the benefits for the UK.

Professor David Barber of UCL, who will lead the SOFAIR Lab, said:

We’re very excited that UCL will be leading the new SOFAIR Lab.

While current AI systems are impressive, many still suffer from basic issues such as inaccurate responses to questions.

These systems often use similar underlying architectures, so SOFAIR will bring together the broader sciences and fresh ideas to create a new generation of open-source models.

This will reduce dependency on the small number of model providers, boosting UK sovereignty and its position as a global player in AI.

Associate Professor Jakob Foerster of the University of Oxford, who will lead the BOLD Lab, said:

The UK cannot win the global AI race simply by trying to outspend the largest technology companies on data and compute.

BOLD is about a different route: discovering fundamentally new ways to build AI that are more efficient, more open and better aligned with human needs.

By focusing on new paradigms for learning, rather than only scaling existing methods, we aim to help secure the UK’s sovereign capability in AI and ensure that academic research can shape the future of the field.

The labs are the first major investment under UKRI’s AI strategy, which sets out an ambitious vision for fundamental AI research that works for the UK economy and society.

The programme will initially provide around £8 million to each lab, with further funding released following an assessment in autumn 2026.

This will ensure early progress and robust plans are in place before the remaining investment is confirmed.

Today’s announcement goes further than first planned by doubling the number of labs from one to two and increasing total investment from £40 million to up to £60 million.

This reflects UKRI’s recognition of the significant opportunity identified through this programme.

Both labs will work alongside leading players in the UK AI ecosystem, including The Alan Turing Institute and UKRI’s AI research hubs.

The labs will build on existing centres of excellence, major research investments and strong links with industry partners.

Developing a pipeline of talent is also central to both labs’ missions, with £2 million per lab earmarked to support a minimum of ten doctoral students.

The labs will invest in researchers at every career stage, from doctoral training through to postdoctoral support and academic staff.

The teams bring together internationally recognised expertise across disciplines and sectors, positioning the UK at the forefront of fundamental AI research and innovation.

The Science of Fundamental AI Research (SOFAIR) Lab is led by UCL, with the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Edinburgh also involved.

The SOFAIR Lab will develop next generation open-source AI technologies.

Modern AI relies heavily on a small number of popular architectures trained on vast data, requiring immense computing infrastructure.

Led by Professor David Barber from UCL, SOFAIR will bring together researchers from across computer science, mathematics, statistics and neuroscience.

The lab will explore new AI architectures and those designed to run on widely available hardware.

This will mean cutting-edge AI will be more widely accessible for everyone, including researchers and institutions.

The British Open-ended Learning and Discovery (BOLD) Lab is led by the University of Oxford, with UCL and Imperial College London also involved.

The BOLD, led by Professor Jakob Foerster at the University of Oxford will fundamentally rethink how AI systems learn.

Where today’s AI can struggle with real-world complexity, BOLD will develop systems capable of working alongside humans, navigating physical environments and operating without vast centralised computing power.

The lab will be built around three ambitious research pillars, new learning algorithms, human-centred AI and embodied systems like robots.

The lab will translate breakthroughs into open-source tools, and it will be a breeding ground for commercial spin-outs.