The UK government will invest £100m in a new AI Biosecurity Lab, with OpenAI and Anthropic contributing up to £200m in compute and model credits, the Cabinet Office said. The lab will focus on early detection of biological threats and faster development of vaccines and treatments. OpenAI and Anthropic’s contributions are not cash but include access to their AI models, technical support, and compute resources. Google DeepMind and UK firm Basecamp Research will also join research projects, offering access to their science and biology models.
The lab will be an independent non-profit, modelled on the AI Security Institute. Public bodies such as the UK Health Security Agency and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory will take part, and the MHRA will work with the lab on regulating AI-designed medicines. No director, site or start date was announced, and the time period for the £100m was not specified.
The project forms part of a wider £600m package for AI security, including £120m for the AI Security Institute. The announcement follows Nvidia’s recent $250m pledge of computing power to UK AI safety research. The UK is seeking to build a global role in AI biosecurity and regulation.
