The UK is expanding its efforts to address emerging AI risks with a €100 million investment in a new AI Biosecurity Lab, supported by OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind. The initiative aims to strengthen the government’s ability to identify, monitor and respond to biological threats linked to advances in AI.
According to a government statement, the lab will receive up to €200 million in AI model credits from OpenAI and Anthropic. It will also work with Google DeepMind and life sciences company Basecamp Research. The government has separately allocated €65 million to develop countermeasures against pathogens.
“As AI becomes more powerful, Britain must have the capabilities to protect its people and shape its own future,” said Kanishka Narayan, the UK’s AI minister. “That means staying ahead of emerging threats, from cyber attacks to biological risks, while building more of the critical technology our security depends on.”
Narayan said the lab “will be a major new global institution, bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats and ensure Britain leads the world in AI safety and security,”
The move reflects the UK’s strategy of creating specialised institutions outside existing government departments to study, monitor and develop AI capabilities.
The government also announced an additional €120 million for the AI Security Institute, which regularly evaluates advanced AI models, and €23 million for the AI Economics Institute, which is being established to study AI’s economic impact.
Broader investment in AI security and innovation
The UK is seeking to maintain its position in the global AI sector despite trailing the US and China in advanced AI models. It aims to act as an “honest broker” in AI monitoring and regulation, taking a different approach from the European Union’s stricter regulatory framework.
Matt Clifford, Anthropic’s head of International Affairs and a former prime ministerial AI adviser, welcomed the initiative.
“AI is changing both the biological risks we face and the nature of biological discovery, and we applaud the UK government’s foresight in opening the AI Biosecurity Lab,” he said.
He added that combining advanced AI, British scientific expertise and government capabilities could help detect threats earlier and accelerate medical treatments.
The government also committed €130 million to use AI to identify cyber vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and the wider economy, strengthening national cyber defences. The announcement follows efforts by governments and companies to address 2 critical software flaws discovered with AI assistance.
A further €120 million will go to the Sovereign AI Fund to expand support for physical and industrial AI, including robotics, autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing, while broadening procurement opportunities for British startups.
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