Britain's government set out around £600 million ($800 million) of funding on Saturday largely geared towards defending against health and security threats from artificial intelligence, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via SRN News, Oct 24, 2026
The biggest chunk of funding will go to a new biosecurity initiative, including £100 million for a laboratory using AI to detect biological threats and £65 million to develop countermeasures against pathogens, Reuters reported. The BBC reported that, as part of Wednesday's Budget, the chancellor will commit £100 million to establishing the new, "world first" AI Biosecurity Lab institute with the support of leading AI firms.
Source: Reuters via SRN News; BBC News via Scoop, Oct 24, 2026
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the aim was for the AI Biosecurity Lab to become a major global institution "bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats", Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via SRN News, Oct 24, 2026
Tech companies OpenAI and Anthropic will offer up to £200 million of model credits to the biosecurity initiative, and Google DeepMind and London-based AI life sciences startup Basecamp Research will offer other assistance, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via SRN News, Oct 24, 2026
Beyond biosecurity, Britain's existing AI Security Institute will get an extra £120 million, £130 million will go towards new projects to improve cyber defences for critical infrastructure and the wider economy, known as the National Cyber Shield and the National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre, £60 million will go to a fund investing in British companies using AI for robotics, autonomous systems and manufacturing, and £60 million will be used for AI research and procurement contracts, Reuters reported. A further £23 million will go to research on the economic impact of AI, £18 million to a new chip design academy, £15 million to a prize for AI solutions to public policy problems, initially focused on healthcare, and £30 million to regional mayors, while the National Cyber Security Centre will receive an unspecified sum to expand in Manchester, it said.
Source: Reuters via SRN News, Oct 24, 2026
Yaani: £600 million is about 60 crore pounds, roughly $800 million — yaani about 80 crore US dollars — and the £100 million laboratory alone is 10 crore pounds, on the Reuters conversion of $1 to 0.7472 pounds.