Keir Starmer Outlines £1 billion AI Push at London Tech Week

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer used his London Tech Week keynote on June 9 to frame artificial intelligence as a force for growth rather than fear. He announced a £1 billion commitment to next-generation AI compute systems, aimed at giving British researchers and startups access to world-class infrastructure (see “Extract,” a planning-assistant tool powered by Google’s Gemini AI). To build talent pipelines, Starmer launched TechFirst, a £187 million program to teach AI skills in schools and reskill 7.5 million workers by 2030. He argued that AI will “create good jobs,” boost public services and drive new industries—if governed responsibly. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined him on stage, lauding the UK’s leadership in AI innovation. Starmer framed technology as “humanizing,” promising oversight alongside investment to address public concerns about automation and data privacy. This speech marks a shift in UK policy from cautious regulation toward active promotion of AI as an economic cornerstone.