To be known as Isambard-AI, plans for the supercomputer have been backed by a £900m investment to transform the UK’s computing capacity and establish a dedicated AI Research Resource (AIRR).

The facility will be used by a wide range of organisations from across the UK to study AI, including areas such as accelerating automated drug discovery and climate research.

Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, project lead at the University of Bristol, said: “Isambard-AI will be one of the world’s first, large-scale, open AI supercomputers, and builds on our expertise designing and operating cutting-edge computational facilities, such as the incoming Isambard 3.”

Science minister Michelle Donelan said: “We are backing the future of British innovation, investing in a world-leading AIRR in Bristol that will catalyse scientific discovery and keep the UK at the forefront of AI development.

“The Isambard-AI cluster will be one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe...