Healey pledges hundreds of millions for British AI security in budget

Chancellor John Healey has pledged to back artificial intelligence with Wednesday’s budget, committing hundreds of millions of pounds to make Britain safer and more prosperous under a distinctively British approach amid an accelerating global technology arms race, with the aim of capitalizing on frontier technology benefits.

Healey said the spending would mark the largest ever investment to guard Britain against cyber dangers and AI disruption. The pledge includes new money for the UK’s AI Security Institute among other critical institutions, plus public funds to support beneficial applications of AI technology.

Healey is preparing his first budget as chancellor, delivered three months after Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer to become prime minister this summer. In the Commons budget address, he intends to set out the government’s priorities and a national vision for unstable global economic conditions.

Healey said AI is central to Labour’s growth plan, which aims to raise living standards, help British companies and build a stronger economy. Official figures show AI investment helped Britain outperform weak economic forecasts, delivering the strongest G7 growth in the first half of the year.

Conflict in the Middle East is straining public finances and reviving the cost of living crisis. At one point on Friday, oil prices topped $117 a barrel amid Gulf tensions, their highest level in six months. The chancellor vowed that the budget would offer households and businesses breathing space, while energy costs linked to the war will hit millions of families this winter.

Officials point to rising concern over national security and critical industry security, citing AI-related risks including cyber attacks, rogue IT systems and widespread job losses. Fears of devastating job losses arise as companies put money into machines instead of people.

Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs through cost-saving steps tied to AI deployment across the bank, with management saying the rollout will produce efficiency gains. This week, websites around the world went offline after a serious flaw emerged in a programming language that underpins much of the internet, a problem linked to rapid AI progress.

Healey intends to use the budget to guard against AI risks while backing domestic companies and skills development, seeking to cut reliance on other nations’ AI advances. New government investment will back AI chip design capacity in Edinburgh, while Manchester will host the AI Centre of Excellence, which aims to help Britain benefit from the technology’s advantages.

Whitehall plans to spend £10m each year leading British analysis of how AI reshapes jobs and industry, to address fears over job losses. The Treasury intends to back up to £300m in public-private money for a new AI Biosecurity Lab, described as a world-leading body that brings scientific experts together to protect against new biological threats.

Defence secretary Wes Streeting warned on Thursday that British households should prepare for increasing dangers from weather, cyber attacks and other major emergencies. Under the Be Ready campaign, the government is urging people to keep enough supplies on hand for 72 hours.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said Britain has long led global efforts to use AI for human benefit, adding that the funding will help the country benefit from AI to strengthen national security and stay ahead of adversaries trying to use AI against it. Healey said, “AI will transform daily life: every firm, community, hospital, school and every aspect of our economy can benefit.” Jarvis added, “I’m proud the UK has repeatedly been at the forefront of global efforts to use AI for the benefit of humankind.”

Nvidia has committed $250 million in computing resources for British research into AI agent safety and security over five years, a pledge announced on Oct. 13, 2026, worth $50 million a year. It focuses on autonomous systems that set and pursue their own goals rather than simply responding to queries. Researchers will reach the processing power mainly through UK-based Nvidia Cloud Partners, with the hardware based in Britain.

Major recipients of the Nvidia compute include Oxford’s BOLD lab, the British Open-Ended Learning and Discovery Lab, UCL’s SOFAIR lab, the Science of Fundamental AI Research Lab, and Imperial College London. Imperial College London will use its share of the Nvidia compute for robotics and safety engineering work.

The pledge comes after Nvidia launched the Open Agent Safety Platform on Sept. 28, 2026. It presents the UK program as a move toward making Britain a global center for AI governance and safety, and it aligns with the British government’s aim to lead AI safety assessments during its G20 presidency.