Plan would link commercial capacity with Britain's flagship supercomputers

The UK government is looking for cloud providers to support its ambition of increasing its AI compute capacity twentyfold by 2030 in a deal that could be worth £250 million.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology announced plans for a procurement that asks for cloud providers to help ensure researchers from academia, public institutions, and SMEs can access the hardware they need.

A pre-market engagement notice said it wanted to "accelerate innovation and deliver transformative solutions in critical domains such as climate science, energy, medicine, and advanced materials, supporting economic growth and public good through Social Value commitments."

The deal is valued at "£214.4 million excluding VAT and £250,000,000 including VAT," according to the notice, which provides information about how DSIT wants to engage with suppliers.

Through the deal, DSIT said it wanted to acquire a solution that integrates with the existing portal run by AI ...