The UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) has begun a preliminary market engagement process to procure cloud computing capacity aimed at expanding the nation’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
As detailed in an engagement notice, the eventual contract could be worth up to £250 million over four years.
The goal of this procurement is to enhance the existing “AI Research Resource” (AIRR), which is currently supported by two supercomputers: Isambard-AI, operated by HPE in partnership with Nvidia and the University of Bristol, and Dawn at the University of Cambridge. The selected cloud provider will need to seamlessly integrate with the AIRRPortal — either through a multi-cloud approach or direct provision — to ensure smooth access to AI resources.
DSIT has outlined three key objectives for the contract: to increase the UK’s AI capacity twentyfold by 2030, to ensure AIRR users have access to the most advanced hardware in a timely manner, and to provide facilities that will accelerate innovation across critical sectors such as climate science, energy, medicine, and advanced materials.
In addition to expanding GPU capacity, the contract requires a managed service offering secure data storage, orchestration for machine learning workloads, usage monitoring, reporting, demand forecasting, and active security management.
The anticipated contract duration is from May 2026 to March 2030, with interested parties invited to register their interest by 15 January 2026.
The UK’s current supercomputing infrastructure includes Isambard-AI, launched in July 2025 as a £225 million, 5MW supercomputer built by HPE and Nvidia at the University of Bristol, delivering 23 exaflops of AI performance and ranking 11th on the latest Top500 list. Dawn, located at the University of Cambridge, ranks at number 92 with 53.85 petaflops of peak linpack performance.
The UK’s Isambard-AI launched back in July. A 5MW, £225 million supercomputer, it was built by HPE in partnership with Nvidia and the University of Bristol. It boasts 23 exaflops of AI performance (278 petaflops peak linpack).
