The UK government is leaning on OpenAI to demonstrate its commitment to becoming a global leader in AI, alongside the US and China. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have signed a Memorandum of Understanding declaring that they will work together to “accelerate AI-driven economic growth and deliver opportunities to materially improve people’s lives.”
The voluntary document commits the government body and the AI company to the following:
- Support the UK’s AI ambition by bolstering the research ecosystem.
- Identify opportunities to deploy AI across both public and the private sectors.
- Explore strategies to deliver new AI infrastructure, including AI Growth Zones.
- Advance understanding of AI security risks and develop mitigation strategies.
The UK is intensifying efforts to integrate AI across government operations to improve efficiency. In January, it introduced “Humphrey”, a suite of AI tools designed to expedite policy-making, many of which are powered by OpenAI’s models like GPT-4o. The government aims to apply similar solutions to other taxpayer-funded services, such as justice, defence, and education, with the goal of making them more useful for British businesses and citizens.
AI Growth Zones were introduced in January as a central part of the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. These zones targeted deindustrialised areas where data centre construction will be expedited and were enhanced access to the energy grid will be prioritised — ideally through clean sources such as nuclear fusion. The push for clean energy is critical, as new data centre developments in the UK are reportedly stalled due to insufficient electricity supply. The first Growth Zone is expected to begin development by the end of 2025.
OpenAI already collaborates with the AI Security Institute, the UK’s AI oversight body, by sharing its frontier models for safety evaluations. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, this partnership will expand through a new technical information sharing programme. Separately from the agreement, OpenAI also plans to grow its presence in London.
“AI will be fundamental in driving the change we need to see across the country – whether that’s in fixing the NHS, breaking down barriers to opportunity or driving economic growth,” Kyle said in a statement. “That’s why we need to make sure Britain is front and centre when it comes to developing and deploying AI, so we can make sure it works for us. This can’t be achieved without companies like OpenAI, who are driving this revolution forward internationally.”
“Britain has a strong legacy of scientific leadership and its government was one of the first to recognise the potential of AI through its AI Opportunities Action Plan,” Altman said in a statement. “Now, it’s time to deliver on the plan’s goals by turning ambition to action and delivering prosperity for all.”
OpenAI expands international AI efforts
OpenAI’s efforts extend beyond the UK. It is one of the leaders of the Stargate project, a $500 billion generative AI infrastructure venture in the US. Additionally, it is constructing a massive AI data centre in Abu Dhabi as part of its plan to export what it calls “democratic AI” to countries in need of such technology. At the same time, concerns persist about China’s AI models, with some observers warning that they obscure politically sensitive subjects.
UK pushes to catch up to US in AI race
Since taking office, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has focused on improving the country’s middling reputation in tech innovation. According to Stanford University’s AI index, the UK currently ranks third globally for AI readiness, trailing significantly behind the US and China. Furthermore, a Microsoft report found that delaying AI implementation by five years cost the UK more than £150 billion in lost economic output.
In January, Starmer released the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which prioritized innovation. The plan created the Sovereign AI Unit, tasked with supporting private-sector AI research with up to £500 million of funding, and outlined a goal to increase the UK’s public compute capacity twentyfold by 2030. More recently, the UK has teamed up with NVIDIA on various initiatives, including plans of building a supercomputer.
Notably, the Action Plan offered limited emphasis on AI safety. That stance was reflected in the government’s later decision to rename the AI Safety Institute as the AI Security Institute and to abstain from signing a global pledge promoting “open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy” AI. The US also declined to sign the pledge. Some critics have suggested the UK’s delay in releasing its AI Safety Bill aligns with the policies of President Donald Trump, whose political allies have been openly hostile to AI regulation efforts.
But OpenAI is not always on the UK’s side. In April, OpenAI rejected the UK government’s proposal aimed at balancing the use of online content for AI training with protecting artists’ rights.
